15 


COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 


Jesus  Christ  is  the  Centre  of  everything  and  the  Object  of  every- 
thing ;  and  he  who  does  not  know  Him  knows  nothing  5f  the  order 
of  the  world,  and -nothing  of  himself. — Pascal. 


COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 


LESSONS   IN   FAITH   AND   HOLINESS 

FROM  ST  PAUL'S  EPISTLES  TO  THE  COLOSSIANS 

AND   PHILEMON 


H.    C.    G.'MOULE,    D.D. 

PRINCIPAL  OF   RIDLEY   HALL,   AND   FORMERLY   FELLOW  OF  TRINITY 
COLLEGE,   CAMBRIDGE 


NEW   YORK 

A.    C.    ARMSTRONG    AND    SON 

51,    EAST  TENTH   STREET 
1808 


TO  THE 

RIGHT  REVEREND  JOHN  CHARLES  RYLE,  D.D 

BISHOP    OF    LIVERPOOL 

THIS      BOOK      IS      INSCRIBED 

WITH    REVERENT    AND    GRATEFUL    AFFECTION 

BY   HIS  SERVANT  AND   FRIEND 


Our  glorious  Leader  claims  our  praise 
For  His  own  pattern  given, 

And  the  long  cloud  of  witnesses 
Shew  the  same  path  to  heaven. 

Watts 


PREFACE 

THE  "Studies"  now  in  the  reader's  hand 
have  been  written  with  the  single 
object  of  assisting  and  stimulating  those  other 
"  studies"  which  the  Christian  can  and  must 
carry  on  by  himself  alone,  with  his  own  Bible 
before  him. 

It  will  soon  be  found  out  how  different  is 
the  purpose  of  these  pages  from  that  of  the 
complete  and  elaborated  critical  commentary. 
In  one  respect  only  shall  I  seem  to  have 
traversed  the  lines  of  that  sort  of  exposition — 
in  the  attempt  to  render  every  word  of  the 
text  with  careful  regard  to  diction  and  con- 
nexion. I  have  sought  to  take  the  Apostle's 
sentences  up,  one  by  one,  as  if  they  met  my 
eye  for  the  first  time  (in   a  certain   respect), 


PREFACE 

and    to    turn    them    into    English    so    as    to 
convey  the  freshness. of  the  impression. 

en  this  has  been  accomplished,  with 
whatever  measure  of  success,  my  sole  further 
purpose  has  been  to  bring  out  for  the  reader's 
notice  some  of  those  inexhaustible  messages 
: :  r  the  soul  which  the  study  of  the  God- 
given  utterances  of  the  Apostle  has  carried 
home  to  myself. 

May  the  heavenly  Master,  the  same  yester- 
day, and  to-day,  and  for  ever,  be  'pleased 
to  make  some  use  of  His  servant's  unworthy 
labours,  to  the  benefit  of  His  Church,  in  the 
unending  and  delightful  work  of  "  reading, 
marking,  and  inwardly  digesting "  the  Word 
of  peace,  of  hope,  of  holiness,  of  heaven. 

Ridley  Hall,  Cambrjd: 


CONTENTS 

THE    EPISTLE    TO    THE    COLOSSlANS 

CHAPTER   I 

-  z-z 

INTRODUCTORY 

CHAPTER  II 

5    1V:    TIN  AMD  THAHKSGIVIHG  T    CHMST1 

LIFE   AT   COL  X  : ; 

--:-;.     I-l 

CHAPTER   UI 

THE   APOSTLE'S    FKA9ES    717    EBB    DOUOSSIAHS      -  ■         -" 

(core  se       -         -  - 

::-:  after  iy 

EBB    HtEHEMOraEHCE    17    IHB    SOU   OF   GOD  .  .  "- 

(goubsujc       ::-;a) 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER   V 

PAGE 

REDEMPTION     APPLIED  :      THE     CASE     OF     THE    COLOS- 

SIANS  :    THE   APOSTLE'S   JOY    AND    AIM       ...         93 

(COLOSSIANS    i.    21-29.) 


CHAPTER   VI 

THE   SECRET   OF  GOD,    AND    ITS    POWER  .  .  .       IIJ 

(colossians  ii.   1-7. ) 


CHAPTER   VII 

PARDON,      LIFE,     AND     VICTORY     IN      THE     CRUCIFIED 

AND    RISEN   ONE 139 

(colossians  ii.  8-15.) 


CHAPTER   VIII 

HOLY    LIBERTY    IN    UNION    WITH    CHRIST       ..  .  .       163 

(colossians  ii.  16-23.) 


CHAPTER    IX 

THE    ROOT   AND    FRUIT   OF    HOLINESS  .  .  .       187 

(colossians  iii.  1-7.) 


CONTENTS  XI 


CHAPTER   X 

PAGE 

MORE   UPON    HOLINESS,    ITS    RULES   AND    MOTIVES  .       209 

(colossians  iii.  8-17.) 


CHAPTER   XI 

THE   CHRISTIAN    HOME 23  I 

(colossians  iii.   18 — iv.    1.) 


CHAPTER  XII 

LAST    WORDS     ON     PRAYER,    CONDUCT,    SPEECH  :     PER- 
SONAL  MESSAGES  :    FAREWELL  .  .  .  -255 
(colossians  iv.  2-18.) 


THE    EPISTLE    TO    PHILEMON 
CHAPTER  XIII 

THE   EPISTLE   TO    PHILEMON  :     INTRODUCTORY      .  .       279 

CHAPTER  XIV 
THE    EPISTLE  TO   PHILEMON  :    TRANSLATION  :     ENVO     .       303 


Well  does  the  Lord  call  the  Scriptures  the  Door.  For  the 
Scriptures  bring  us  to  God,  and  open  to  us  the  knowledge  of  Him. 
The  Scriptures  make  the  sheep,  and  guard  the  sheep,  and  do  not 
suffer  the  wolf  to  enter  in. — St  Chrysostom,  on  Joint  v. 


INTRODUCTORY 


When  quiet  in  my  house  I  sit 
Thy  Book  is  my  companion  still ; 

My  joy  Thy  sayings  to  repeat, 
Talk  o'er  the  records  of  Thy  will, 

And  search  the  oracles  divine 

Till  every  heart-felt  word  be  mine. 

Oh  may  the  gracious  words  divine 
Subject  of  all  my  converse  be ; 

So  will  the  Lord  His  follower  join 
And  walk  and  talk  Himself  with  me  ; 

So  shall  my  heart  His  presence  prove, 

And  burn  with  everlasting  love. 

C.  Wesley. 


CHAPTER  I 


INTRODUCTORY 


THE  purpose  of  the  following  pages  is 
altogether  devotional.  To  speak  more 
exactly,  my  aim  is  to  assist  the  believing 
reader  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians  not 
in  the  way  of  historical  and  critical  discussion 
(for  which  the  Epistle  offers  rich  material) 
but  in  the  way  of  such  exposition  and  reflect- 
ion as  may,  under  the  blessing  of  God,  tend 
to  edify.  Throughout  the  expository  portions 
will  run  a  careful  translation,  and  it  will  be 
necessary  in  the  course  of  this  to  remark 
upon  words  and  grammar.  Inevitably  also 
there  will  come  in  references  to  history  and 
to  geography.  Yet  for  a  treatment  of  many 
topics  prominent  in  the  strict  critical  discus- 
sion of  Colossians  the  reader  will  look    here 

3 


COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 


in   vain ;   they   will    not   be  touched  upon,   or 
at  most  the  allusion  will  be  passing. 

For  example,  I  avoid  altogether  the  much 
agitated  problem  of  St  Paul's  route  on  his 
third  missionary  journey.  That  problem  in- 
volves the  question  whether  St  Paul,  on  his 
way  through  the  "inner  regions"  of  Asia 
Minor  to  Ephesus  (Acts  xix.  i),  when  he 
"  went  over  all  the  Phrygian  and  Galatian 
country"  (xviii.  23),  did  or  did  not  pass-down 
the  river-valley  in  which  Colossse  stood.  This 
question  has  of  course  its  interest,  as  every 
detail  in  that  wonderful  life  has.  But  it 
does  not  materially  affect  the  sort  of  study 
of  the  Epistle  which  I  have  in  view ;  for  on 
any  theory  St  Paul  had  never  stayed  at 
Colossse  when  he  wrote  the  Epistle  to  the 
Colossians.  If  he  did  pass  there,  it  was  at 
most  but  "as  a  wayfaring  man  that  turneth 
aside  to  tarry  for  a  night."  When  he  wrote, 
the  Colossian  mission-converts,  as  a  body,  had 
"not  seen  his  face  in  the  flesh"  (ii.    1). 

Nor  shall  I  discuss  at  any  length  the 
question  whether  or  no  the  Epistle  was 
written    not   from    Rome   but    from    Caesarea 


WHERE   WAS    THE    EPISTLE   WRITTEN  ?  5 

on  the  Sea,  where  (Acts  xxiv.  27)  St  Paul 
spent  two  years  in  forced  retirement.  The 
question  has  been  elaborately  debated  in 
modern  times  ;  and  no  one  who  has  not 
studied  it  should  lightly  think  that  the  case 
for  Rome  is  self-evident.  For  myself,  the 
conviction  is  complete  that  Rome  was  the 
place  of  the  writing  of  the  Epistle.1  And 
this  position  will  be  assumed  throughout  the 
exposition.  But  for  our  purpose  this  also 
is  a  question  of  no  primary  importance.  The 
allusions  to  the  Writer's  position  and  con- 
dition in  the  Epistle  are  very  slight  indeed  ; 
a  contrast  to  the  graphic  touches  of  Philip- 
pians.  We  hear  of  a  "  fellow-prisoner " 
(iv.  10),  and  of  "sufferings"  in  which  the 
Apostle  "rejoices"  (i.  24),  and  of  brethren, 
few  among  many,  who  are  "a  comfort"  to 
him  (iv.  11).  And  in  the  companion  Letter, 
or  rather  Note,  to  Philemon,  we  have  re- 
peated allusions  to  a  captivity  (1,  9,  10,  13). 
But    these   references    could    hardly    be    made 

1  In  The  Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools,  etc.  (Colossians, 
Introduction,  ch.  ii.),  I  have  attempted  to  state  carefully  the 
evidence  on  the  two  sides. 


COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 


more  significant  for  our  purpose  by  any 
discovery  for  certain  that  Rome  or  that 
Caesarea  was  the  place  where  the  Writer 
was   detained. 

Again,  the  relation  in  time  between  Philip- 
pians  and  this  Epistle  will  not  be  discussed. 
It  will  be  enough  for  me,  meaning  what  I 
do  in  this  exposition,  to  refer  thus  once 
and  briefly  to  it,  for  it  has  little  bearing,  if 
any,  on  the  positive  revelations  and  messages 
of  Colossians.  I  am  then  one  of  (I  admit) 
the  few  who  go  altogether  in  this  matter 
with  the  reasonings  and  conclusions  of  Light- 
foot  in  his  commentary  on  Philippians.  I 
am  convinced,  after  all  I  have  read  to  the 
contrary,  that  Philippians  comes  early  in 
St  Paul's  Roman  imprisonment,  and  that 
Colossians  (with  Ephesians  and  Philemon) 
comes  later.  I  would  date  Philippians  a.d. 
61,  and  Colossians  perhaps  as  late  as  the 
spring  of  a.d.  63. 1  This  will  be  assumed 
in   the    following  pages.       But   I   think  it   will 

1  See  The  Cambridge  Bible,  etc.  {Colossians,  Introduction, 
ch.  ii.,  and  Philippians ',  Introd.,  ch.  ii.),  for  a  statement  of  the 
questions  involved. 


WHAT    WAS    THE    COLOSSIAN    HERESY  ?  7 

be  seen  that  such  an  assumption  will  leave 
the  study  of  the  divine  message  of  Colossians 
very  much  alone.  It  may  here  and  there 
give  to  our  picture  of  the  Apostle  as  he 
writes  a  colour  which  the  reader  may  think 
borrowed  too  freely  from  imagination.  But 
if  so,  he  will  easily  obliterate  it  in  his  mind ; 
and  what  the  Apostle  has  actually  written 
will  remain  as  it  stands,  in  its  truth  and 
glory. 

Another  question  presented  by  the  Epistle 
calls  for  ample  discussion  from  the  critical 
expounder,  but  may  be  stated  with  much  more 
brevity  for  our  purpose.  I  mean  the  question, 
what  was  the  special  form  of  religious  error 
which  had  invaded  the  Colossian  Mission, 
when  Epaphras  came  to  St  Paul  to  report 
upon  the  state  of  things,  and  especially  upon 
a  dangerous  propaganda  which  was  unsettling 
the  converts.  Certain  features  of  this  mischief 
are  apparent  at  first  sight,  and  are  recognized 
by  all  students  of  the  Epistle.  It  was  evidently 
in  some  sort  and  degree  Judaistic.  It  insisted 
upon  circumcision,  and  upon  the  observance 
of  the  Jewish  holy  days,  weekly,  monthly,  and 


COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 


yearly  (ii.  16).  It  laid  a  strong  emphasis  upon 
"  ordinances  "  of  restriction  in  food  and  drink. 
The  difficult  question  in  the  case  is  how  far 
these  elements  do  or  do  not  explain  the  whole 
movement.  Was  it,  or  was  it  not,  simply  the 
Judaeo-Christianity  which  had  withstood  St 
Paul  at  Antioch  (Acts  xv.),  and  later  in 
Galatia  ?  Was  it  this  and  no  more,  or  was 
it  this  affected  and  altered  by  more  mystic 
elements  from  "  the  pensive  East "  ;  by  specu- 
lations on  the  mysteries  of  Being,  and  of 
Evil?1  In  other  words,  was  "the  Colossian 
Heresy  "  an  amalgam  of  Judaism  and  Gnosti- 
cism, in  a  wide  reference  of  the  latter  word  ? 
My  belief  is  that  on  the  whole  this  view  of 
the  matter  is  the  right  one,  and  that  this  alone 
fully  satisfies  the  language  of  some  parts  of 
the  Epistle.  But  it  will  be  best  to  consider 
the  question  as  it  comes  up  from  time  to  time 
in  the  text  itself.  And  it  must  be  considered 
with  a  caution  emphasized  by  the  fact  that 
in  our  English  expository  literature  the  great 

1  See  Mansel's  Gnostic  Heresies,  Lecture  i.,  for  an  able 
statement  of  the  constant  presence  to  the  Gnostic  of  the  two 
great  enigmas,  the  Origin  of  finite  Being,  and  of  Evil. 


IT    OBSCURED    THE   GLORY   OF    CHRIST  Q 

names  of  Lightfoot  and  Hort  appear  in  it  on 
opposite  sides. 

One  thing  is  certain  as  to  "  the  Colossian 
Heresy."  It  was  a  doctrine  of  God,  and  of 
salvation,  which  cast  a  cloud  over  the  glory 
of  Jesus  Christ.  For  the  present  at  least,  it 
will  be  enough  to  remember  this.  St  Paul, 
writing  to  Colossse,  had  to  deal  with  an  error 
which,  whatever  else  it  did,  did  this — it  put 
Jesus  Christ  into  the  background.  It  found 
the  Pauline  converts,  we  may  safely  assume, 
acting  upon  the  Pauline  Gospel ;  "  worshipping 
by  God's  Spirit,  exulting  in  Christ  Jesus,  and 
confident — but  not  in  the  flesh  "  (Phil.  iii.  3). 
They  had  heard  a  message  which  was,  first 
and  last,  Jesus  Christ — "  who  died  for  our 
sins,  and  rose  again  for  our  justification,"  and 
lives  to  be  our  life,  by  His  all-sufficient  grace. 
Their  baptism  had  been  to  them  the  divine 
seal  and  summary  of  all  this  ;  and  in  the  strong 
simplicity  of  first  faith  and  love  they  were 
enjoying  "  the  light  of  the  Lord,"  without  a 
misgiving.  But  then  came  in  certain  mes- 
sengers who  undertook  to  set  them  right  ;  to 
shew  them  what  they  did  not  fully  understand. 


IO  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

Jesus  Christ  might  be  much,  but  He  was  not 
all.  The  Law  was  still  the  fence  around  the 
Gospel.  Baptism  must  be  approached  through 
circumcision,  or  at  least  supported  by  it.  The 
believer  must  be  a  devotee,  in  an  ordered 
round  of  qualifying  observances  ;  or  he  would 
not  be  acceptable,  or  pure.  And  while  Jesus 
Christ,  in  the  vast  hierarchy  of  the  Unseen, 
occupied  no  doubt  a  place  of  majesty,  He 
must  not  cast  into  the  shade  other  poWers  of 
that  world.  The  disciple  must  know  that  the 
Angels  of  glory  called  also  for  his  worship, 
and  for  his  reliance.  They,  with  the  Christ, 
as  the  Christ  with  them,  were  necessary  links 
in  the  mysterious  chain  which  must  put  man 
on  earth,  man  in  the  body,  man  in  matter,  in 
contact  with  the  Eternal.  Would  they  have 
rest  to  their  consciences  ?  They  must  supple- 
ment Christ  with  other  mediations.  Would 
they  have  emancipation  from  evil  and  its 
tyranny  ?  They  must  supplement  Christ  with 
a  strict  ascetic  and  ritual  discipline. 

It  is  perfectly  clear  that  the  new  propa- 
gandists did  not,  at  least  in  any  avowed  and 
perhaps    in    any    intentional    way,    deny   Jesus 


CHRIST    WAS    MUCH    BUT    NOT   ALL  I  I 

Christ  as  the  Leader  and  in  some  sense  the 
Saviour  and  Lord  of  men.  There  is  no  hint 
in  the  Epistle  that  the  Colossians  had  ever 
heard  His  blessed  Name  blasphemed  by  their 
visitors  ;  as  it  would  have  been  by  emissaries 
of  a  Caiaphas,  or  again  by  accomplices  of  a 
Demetrius  the  silversmith.  Probably  the  new 
Gospel  was  very  far  indeed  from  confessing 
anything  like  the  true  glory  of  Christ's  Person  ; 
He  probably  was,  in  it,  by  no  means  "the  Son 
of  God  with  power."  Yet  He  was  enough  ac- 
knowledged to  allow  the  teachers  to  pass,  even 
in  their  own  eyes,  for  "  brethren."  Only,  there 
was  this  fatal  difference  ;  He  was  practically 
minimized.  He  might  in  some  sense  preside 
over  the  difficult  processes  of  religion.  But 
He  was  not — Salvation.  He  was  something. 
He  was  some  great  thing.  But  He  was  very 
far  indeed  from  All.  He  was  mysterious  and 
venerable.  But  He  was  not  "  the  Way,  and 
the  Truth,  and  the  Life  "  ;  "  Righteousness, 
and  Sanctification,  and  Redemption  "  ;  Light 
and  Love,  and  Power;  "Alpha  and  Omega." 
The  new  voices  at  Colossse  would  have  many 
things  to   discourse  upon  ;    and   among  those 


12  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

many  things  would  be  Jesus  Christ.  But  He 
would  not  be  the  magnetic  Centre  of  their 
discourses.  They  would  not  gravitate  to  Him, 
and  be  as  if  they  could  never  have  done  with 
setting  forth  His  holy  greatness,  and  His  vital 
necessity,  and  His  "  all-sufficiency  in  all 
things."  His  dying  love  would  not  set  the 
speakers'  hearts  and  words  on  fire,  nor  would 
they  dilate  upon  His  rising  power,  and  the 
double  blessedness  of  His  presence,  fof  His 
disciples  upon  the  Throne,  and  in  His  disciples 
in  the  heart.  The  wonder  of  His  Incarnation 
would  be  little  spoken  of,  and  the  solemn  joy 
of  the  hope  of  His  Return  as  little.  The 
favourite  topics  of  conversation  and  of  preach- 
ing would  be  of  a  very  different  kind.  Cir- 
cumcision, a  calendar  of  obligatory  holidays, 
a  code  of  ceremonial  abstinence,  a.  philosophy 
of  unseen  powers,  and  secret  ways  and  rules 
for  approach  to  them  in  adoration ;  these 
would  be  the  congenial  and  really  characteristic 
themes  of  this  "  other  Gospel." 

Now  this,  as  we  know,  (thanks  under  God 
to  our  Colossian  Epistle  among  other  oracles 
of  the  Truth,)  is  exactly  utiiike  the  authentic 


BUT    CHRIST   IS    THE    GOSPEL  1 3 

Gospel.  What  is  the  Gospel  of  the  New 
Testament,  or  rather  of  the  whole  Scriptures, 
as  the  New  Testament  unfolds  the  hidden 
glories  of  the  Old  ?  It  is  not  this  thing,  or 
that,  and  the  other ;  it  is  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  It  is  "the  proclamation  of  Jesus 
Christ."  He  is,  in  it,  "the  First,  and  with 
the  last."  From  every  point  of  view  it  is  thus 
in  the  Gospel.  Do  we  approach  the  Gospel 
to  ask  for  oracles  about  God  ?  It  replies  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  "  the  express  Image  of  His 
Person,"  One  with  Him.  Do  we  come  to  ask 
answers  about  the  mystery  of  Being,  the 
majestic  secret  of  Creation  ?  It  replies  that  "  all 
things  were  made  through  the  Son,  and  without 
Him  was  not  anything  made  that  was  made." 
Do  we  interrogate  the  Gospel  about  pardon  ? 
Its  answer,  full  of  the  musical  harmony  of  eternal 
Law  and  eternal  Love,  tells  us  that  "  the  blood 
of  Jesus  Christ  His  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all 
sin  "  ;  that  we  are  "  accepted  in  the  Beloved  "  ; 
that  our  "sins  are  forgiven  us  for  His  Name's 
sake "  ;  for  "He  is  the  Propitiation  for  our 
sins."  Do  we  enquire  about  the  inmost  way 
of  Holiness  ?     We  listen,   and  learn   that   "  if 


14  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

the  Son  shall  make  us  free,  we  shall  be  free 
indeed";  "  He  is  made  unto  us  Sanctification" ; 
He  is  able  to  "  dwell  in  our  hearts,  by  faith," 
and  thence  to  rule  our  being;  "His  grace  is 
sufficient"  ;  "  His  power  overshadows"  us  in 
our  deep  moral  weakness.  Do  we  feel  the 
burthen  of  our  awful  mortality,  and  ask  for 
a  real  antidote?  He  Himself  answers,  out  of 
the  heart  of  His  Gospel,  "  I  am  the  Resurrec- 
tion and  the  Life";  "He  that  believeth  in 
Me  hath  everlasting  life  "  ;  "  shall  never  die." 
His  servant  says  that  "He  hath  abolished 
death,"  and  that  He,  the  blessed  Lord  of 
Resurrection,  "  is  able  to  subdue  all  things 
unto  Himself."  Do  we  come  to  the  Gospel 
for  an  answer  which  shall  make  tangible  to 
us  the  infinite  mystery  of  the  future  life  ? 
"  To  depart  and  to  be  with  Christ  is  far 
better"  ;  that  is  the  answer  for  death.  "We 
shall  be  for  ever  with  the  Lord  "  ;  that  is  the 
answer  for  resurrection. 

Yes  indeed,  in  the  Gospel  of  God,  of  Christ, 
of  the  Apostles,  of  the  Prophets,  Christ  is  All. 
He  is  the  Revelation  of  the  Father,  the  Bond 
of  Man    and  God,   the    Giver   of  the    Spirit, 


CHRIST    IS    THE   CENTRAL    SUN  I  5 

the  Merit  of  the  guilty,  the  Purity  of  the 
sinful,  the  Power  of  the  weak,  the  everlasting 
Life  for  our  mortality. 

No  surer  test,  according  to  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  can  be  applied  to  anything  claiming 
to  be  Christian  teaching,  than  this :  Where 
does  it  put  Jesus  Christ  ?  What  does  it  make 
of  Jesus  Christ  ?  Is  He  something  in  it,  or 
is  He  all  ?  Is  He  the  Sun  of  the  true  solar 
system,  so  that  every  planet  gets  its  place 
and  its  light  from  Him  ?  Or  is  He  at  best 
a  sort  of  Ptolemaic  sun,  rolling  together  with 
other  luminaries  around  an  earthly  centre — 
whether  that  centre  take  the  form  of  an  ob- 
servance, a  constitution,  or  a  philosophy  ? 

If  such  is  the  character  of  the  one  Gospel 
which  has  really  descended  from  the  heavens, 
it  is  no  wonder  that  St  Paul  takes  the  line 
he  does  in  writing  to  Colossse.  From  first  to 
last  the  dogmatics  of  the  Epistle  consist  in 
just  this,  the  infinite  glory  of  the  Person  of 
the  Son  of  God,  and  the  grandeur  of  His 
finished  Work,  and  the  abundant  fulness  of 
His  Grace.  And  the  noble  ethics  of  the 
Epistle  are  just  this,  the  Son  of  God  applied 


1 6  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

to  the  believer's  daily  path,  in  this  perfection 
of  what  He  is  and  what  He  has  done.  We 
shall  appreciate  this  better  of  course  as  we 
proceed.  But  let  it  guide  and  govern  our 
studies  from  the  beginning,  as  it  is  so  amply 
entitled  to  do.  We  are  to  read  an  inspired 
Epistle,  an  Oracle  of  God,  whose  utterances 
are  conditioned  by  the  approach  of  a  theory 
of  religion  which  puts  Jesus  Christ  out  of  the 
central  place.  Let  us  listen  to  the  sentences 
and  paragraphs  ;  they  will  more  than  re-affirm 
all  the  oracles  that  have  gone  before  concern- 
ing this  wonderful  Saviour.  They  will  assert 
again  and  again  eternal  truths  which  earlier 
Scriptures  have  emphasized.  But  they  will 
lift  the  veil  still  further  from  His  inexhaustible 
glory,  as  they  tell  us  things  about  which  we 
had  not  so  explicitly  heard  before — about  His 
Headship  in  Creation,  and  His  Headship  in 
the  Church  ;  about  His  being  our  very  Life  ; 
"  that  in  all  things  He  may  have  the  pre- 
eminence." 

So  be  it,  with  us  now,  as  in  Colossce  then. 

And    where,    and  what,    was  Colossae  ?      It 


COLOSSI  1 7 

was  a  country-town  of  Asia  Minor,  about  a 
hundred  miles  east  of  Ephesus.  It  lay  at 
the  mouth  of  "  a  narrow  glen  some  ten  miles 
long,"  l  on  the  south  of  which  towers  Mount 
Cadmus,  a  snowy  pyramid,  now  called  by 
the  Turks  Baba  Dagh,  Father  of  Mountains. 
Down  the  glen,  and  out  of  it,  runs  the 
Lycus,  the  Wolf-stream,  soon  to  pour  its 
waters  into  the  Maeander.  Within  the  day's 
walk  of  an  active  pedestrian,  in  the  same 
Lycus  valley,  lie  the  sites  of  Laodicea  and 
of  Hierapolis,  looking  at  each  other  across 
the  fields  and  the  river.  It  is  a  strange 
region,  betraying  everywhere  the  presence 
of  volcanic  fires,  and  the  traces  of  their 
action ;  an  action  which  has  repeatedly  in 
the  past  devastated  the  district,  and  which 
struck  Colossae  itself  with  ruinous  shocks 
within  a  few  years  after  the  writing  of  the 
Epistle.2  Travellers  describe  with  equal 
warmth  the  splendid  picturesqueness  of  the 
scenery,  seen  under  the  glowing  sun  of  Asia, 
and    the    weird    desolateness    of   the    streams 

1  Ramsay,  The  Church  in  the  Roman  Empire,  p.  472. 
3  See  Lightfoot,  Colossians,  ed.  i.,  p.  38,  note. 

2 


1 8  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

and  cascades    of  limestone  which  whiten    the 
sides  of  the  valley. 

Of  the  three  towns  of  the  Lycus,  Colossse 
was  by  far  the  smallest,  and  at  the  date 
of  the  Epistle  it  was  in  a  state  of  decline 
and  decay.  It  had  had  its  days  of  fame. 
Here  Xerxes  had  halted  on  his  way  to  the 
Grecian  wars,  letting  his  countless  host  rest 
at  the  western  mouth  of  the  Cadmian  pass. 
The  younger  Cyrus,  the  Cyrus  of  Xenophon's 
Anabasis,  paused  here  for  a  week  with  his 
Greek  mercenaries  on  his  way  upward  to 
attack  his  brother ;  it  was  then  "  a  populous 
and  prosperous  city."  l  It  was  celebrated  too 
for  a  natural  wonder ;  a  gulph  into  which 
the  Lycus  disappeared,  to  issue  five  stadia 
lower  down,  before  its  junction  with  the 
Maeander ;  a  limestone  tunnel,  which  seems 
to  have  been  changed  long  ago,  by  earth- 
quake or  decay,  into  an  open  cutting.  But 
by  the  Christian  era  Colossae  was  small  and 
obscure ;  a  place  which  hovered  between 
town  and  village,  a  townlet,  a  polisma. 

1  Xenophon,  Anabasis,  i.  2,  §  6. 


IT    WAS    ONLY    A    POLISMA  1 9 

We  probably  know,  by  observation  or 
description,  perhaps  some  of  my  readers  by 
residence,  what  life  is  like  in  a  polisma. 
It  has  its  brighter  side,  of  close  neighbour- 
hood and  almost  domestic  friendships.  But 
there  is  a  sadder  side  also,  a  certain  stagna- 
tion of  thought  and  action,  and  a  melancholy 
inseparable  from  what  seems  a  destiny  of 
decline.  Let  us  take  such  impressions  as  a 
foil  to  the  glory  of  the  Colossian  Epistle, 
and  thank  God  that  in  that  old,  remote 
polisma  this  grace  had  so  gloriously  begun 
to  "make  all  things  new"  in  human  hearts. 
And  is  it  not  characteristic  of  Him  that  this 
wonderful  Epistle,  this  great  treasure  for  all 
time  in  the  universal  Church,  should  have 
been  written  for  Colossal  It  is  read  and 
pondered  now  wherever  man  has  heard  of 
Christ.  It  is  dear  to  innumerable  hearts  in 
Europe,  in  Australia,  in  India,  on  the  central 
table-land  of  Africa,  in  the  islands  of  the 
Ocean,  in  the  cities  and  on  the  prairies  of 
America.  But  it  was  first  sent,  with  all  its 
unsearchable  wealth  of  truth,  to  the  mission- 
church   of   that   small   decaying   town    of   the 


20  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

Levant.  So  did  the  Author  of  Scripture 
"give  liberally."  And  this  liberality  with 
His  written  Word  long  ago  is  an  index  of 
His  heart  towards  the  believer,  and  the 
Church,  for  ever.  There  is  nothing  which 
He  will  grudge,  in  their  real  need,  to  the 
feeblest  of  His  disciples  and  to  the  least 
noticed  of  their  communities. 

How  was  Colossal  evangelized  ?  Certainly 
not  by  the  direct  ministry  of  St  Paul  him- 
self. The  disciples  there — as  a  community 
— "  had  not  seen  his  face  in  the  flesh." 
The  work  was  probably  done  through  the 
Epaphras l  who  appears  so  prominently  in 
the  Epistle.  We  may  reasonably  assume  that 
Epaphras  himself  entered  into  the  light  of 
Christ  as  a  hearer  of  St  Paul  at  Ephesus, 
at  some  time  during  the  "three  whole  years" 
(probably  a.d.  55 — a.d.  57)  which  the  Apostle 
spent  continuously  in  the  great  city.  During 
that  time  "  all  they  that  dwelt  in  Asia,"  the 
proconsular  province  of  which  Ephesus  was 
capital,  "heard  the  Word  "  (Acts  xix.  10).      It 

1  Not  to  be  identified  with  the  Epaphroditus  of  Philippians. 


COLOSSIANS    AT    EPHESUS  2  1 

was  one  of  those  periods  of  which  the  Church 
has  seen  many  since,  when  the  Spirit  of  God 
moved  in  human  hearts  with  what  we  may 
presume  to  call  an  epidemic  power  ;  from  town 
to  town,  from  village  to  village,  the  longing  to 
hear  the  heavenly  message  spread,  men  knew 
not  how.  We  seem  to  see  a  group  of  friends 
coming  down  the  Mseander  valley  from  the 
quiet  old  town  among  the  limestone  hills  ; 
Philemon  is  there,  and  Apphia,  and  Archippus, 
and  Epaphras,  and  perhaps  Onesimus  in 
attendance  on  them.  And  they  find  out  the 
new  teacher,  and  of  some  of  them  at  least 
"the  Lord  opens  the  heart,"  and  they  believe 
on  the  blessed  Name.  And  we  may  think 
that  Paul  soon  recognizes  in  Epaphras  the 
gifts  of  evangelist  and  pastor,  and  lays  his 
hands  on  him  in  due  time,  and  sends  him 
back  to  be  the  missionary  of  his  home. 

Even  thus  many  an  incident  of  evangelization 
has  been  shaped  in  later  days.  There  is  a 
Colossae-like  district  in  the  highlands  of  the 
Chinese  province  of  Cheh-kiang,  the  district 
of  Chu-ki.  Not  very  many  years  ago  it  was 
evangelized  by  one  of  its  own  sons,  who  had 


2  2  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

visited  Hang-chow,  the  Ephesus  of  the  region, 
the  glorious  Ouin-say  of  Marco  Polo,  and  there 
had  read  the  unknown  word  Jesus  over  the 
door  of  a  mission-room.  So  began  his  en- 
quiries, and  so  came  his  conversion,  followed 
in  time  (after  a  period  of  earnest  witnessing, 
antecedent  to  any  ministerial  calling)  by  his 
ordination  as  the  missionary-pastor  of  Chu-ki.1 
The  seasons  and  scenes  are  various  indeed, 
but  the  power  of  the  Gospel  is  above  all'time. 

Colossse  is  nothing  now  but  ruins.  Ages 
ago  the  site  was  deserted  for  Chonav  now 
called  Chonos,  three  miles  away.  The  visitor 
finds  a  field  full  of  broken  structures  and 
mutilated  columns,  and  at  a  little  distance 
another  field  shewing  the  debris  of  a  cemetery  ; 
the  Lycus,  the  Tchoruk  Su  of  the  Turks, 
rushes  as  of  old  between.     This  is  Colossae. 

"  But  the  Word  of  the  Lord  endureth  for 
ever." 


1  See  The  Story  of  the  Cheh-kiang  Mission  (published  by 
the  Church  Missionary  Society),  ed.  4,  ch.  vi. 

2  I.e.  "the  Funnels";  with  allusion  probably  to  the  under- 
ground channels  in  the  limestone. 


SALUTATION  AND    THANKSGIVING:    NEWS 
OF  CHRISTIAN  LIFE  AT  COLOSSI. 


23 


What  do  I  not  owe  to  the  Lord  for  permitting  me  to  take 
a  part  in  the  translation  of  His  Word  ?  Never  did  I  see  such 
wonders,  and  wisdom,  and  love,  in  this  blessed  Book  as  since 
I  have  been  obliged  to  study  every  expression.  And  it  is  a 
delightful  reflection  that  death  cannot  deprive  us  of  the  pleasure 
of  studying  its  mysteries. 

H.  Martyn. 


24 


CHAPTER    II 

SALUTATION    AND    THANKSGIVING  :    NEWS    OF 
CHRISTIAN    LIFE    AT    COLOSSI 

Colossians  i.   1-8 

Ver.  i.  Paul,  an  apostle  of  Christ  Jesus,1  His  com- 
missioned Delegate  to  reveal,  teach,  and  order, 
through  God's  will,  the  will  whose  sovereign  efficacy 
makes  it  as  it  were  its  own  wea?is  (Bid  with  genitive), 
and  Tiniotheus,  the   brother,  the   fellow-Christian  and 

Ver.  2.  fellow-worker  known  to  all,2  to  the  holy 
and  faithful  brethren  in  Christ  in  Colossae,  the  men 
and  women  there  who,  joined  to  the  Lord,  are 
"hallowed"  from  sin  and  the  world  and  are  living 
the   life   of  "  faith "    in   Him  ;   grace  be   to   you   and 

1  Xpicrros  'It](tovs  is  the  best-attested  order.  It  is  almost 
peculiar  to  St  Paul,  and  with  him  is  the  more  frequent.  It 
lays  a  certain  emphasis  on  the  Xpiaros,  and  so  on  the 
Lord's  Messianic  glory. 

2  So  I  would  paraphrase  6  d&eXcpos,  the  words  used  likewise 
of  Quartus  (Rom.  xvi.  23),  Sosthenes  (1  Cor.  i.  1),  Apollos 
(1  Cor.  xvi.  12).  Every  Christian  is  an  dde'kcpos  among  brethren 
(see  just  below,  ver.  2) ;  but  6  dbf\(p6s  seems  to  indicate 
something  _par  excellence. 

25 


26  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

peace,  all  that  is  free  and  loving  in  divine  favour 
and  presence,  and  all  that  is  tranquil  and  happy  in 
divine  regard  for  you,  and  in  your  repose  in  divine 
salvation,  from  God  our  Father,1  that  Name  of  infinite 
nearness  and  love,  revealed  to  us  in  the  beloved 
Son,  who  has  made  us  His  own  brethren. 

Let  us  pause  over  this  familiar  greeting,  for 
one  simple  purpose.  It  puts  before  us  the 
persons  greeted,  as  to  their  location,  their 
connexion,  from  two  very  different  points  of 
sight.  Where  were  these  "  hallowed  and 
believing2  brethren"?  They  were  "  in 
CoIossceT  They  were  "  in  Christ"  From  the 
one  side  they,  as  much  as  any  of  their 
neighbours,   were  the   denizens    of  that  small 

1  Probably  the  words  koi  Kvpiov  'lrjaov  Xpiarov  in  the 
Received  Text  are  to  be  omitted ;  they  may  have  been  in- 
serted early  by  copyists  from  the  parallel  passage  Eph.  i.  2. 
— The  words  just  above,' rois  iv  KoX.  ayiois  kcu  ttmtto'is  d8f\(pdis 
iv  Xpia-ra,  lose  somewhat  by  translation,  as  it  is  impossible  in 
English  to  keep  the  Greek  order;  "the  in  Colossce,"  etc. 
The  change  of  order  necessitated  by  our  idiom  throws  rather 
too  much  emphasis  on  "in  Colossse,"  where  emphasis  should 
rather  rest  on  "in  Christ."  And  the  paraphrase,  "those 
who  in  Colossce  are  holy,"  etc.,  is  not  quite  true  to  the 
simplicity  of  the  Greek. 

2  N.  T.  usage  favours  our  rendering  moros  here  not 
"trusty"  but  "trustful."     See  e.g.  Gal.  iii.  9. 


"IN    COLOSSI,    IN    CHRIST"  27 

Asiatic-Greek  town  ;  probably  its  natives  ; 
habituated  to  the  scenery  of  its  streets,  and 
fields,  and  rushing  river,  and  limestone  chasms, 
and  overlooking  hills,  and  to  the  scenes  of  its 
daily  life  in  home,  and  shop,  and  market. 
They  were  "  in "  it,  hour  by  hour,  as  to  all 
its  unfavourable  spiritual  circumstances ;  its 
immemorial  idolatry,  its  pagan  vice,  its  pro- 
vincialism, its  narrowness,  its  decay.  All  that 
was  formidable  in  a  life  lived  amidst  old  and 
intimate  surroundings,  yet  with  the  confession 
of  a  new  creed.;  all  that  was  depressing  in  a 
life  lived  where  the  stream  of  energy  around 
ran  low,  and  the  "  brethren  "  were  but  a  little 
flock  ;  this  was  involved  in  their  being  placed 
"  in  Colossse."  And  they  were  as  sensitive 
as  we  are  to  what  the  pressure  of  hour  and 
company  means  for  the  weak  human  heart. 
But  then  on  the  other  side  they  were,  while 
in  Colossae,  also  "  in  Christ."  Here  was  their 
supernatural  secret  for  life,  power,  purity,  love, 
cheerfulness,  "  everlasting  comfort  and  good 
hope."  Their  spiritual  locality  was — the  Lord. 
To  Him  they  had  "come."  And  so  to  Him,  by 
the  Spirit,  they  were  "joined"  (i  Cor.  vi.  17). 


2  8  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

And  now,  "  with   Him,  in  God,"  their  life,  as 
to  its  inexhaustible  principle  and  secret,   was 
"hid."    They  moved  about  Colossae  "in  Christ." 
They  worked,  served,  kept  the  house,  followed 
the  business,  met  the  neighbours,  entered  into 
their   sorrows    and  joys,    "  walked  in  wisdom 
towards  them,"  suffered  their  abuse  and  insults 
when    such     things     came — all    "  in    Christ." 
They   carried    about    with    them    a    "  private 
atmosphere,"    which    was    not   of  Asia  ibut  of 
heaven.     To  them  Christ  was  the  inner  home, 
the  dear  invisible  but  real   resting-place.     He 
was  "  the  strong  City  "  of  refuge  and  strength. 
He  was  the   Paradise,   with    its   deep  shades, 
and  golden  flowers,  and  living  streams.     Or  to 
put   it  otherwise,   He  was  the  blessed    Head, 
"  in "   whom    they  now   found    themselves  the 
limbs.     "In  Him  "  they  lived   and  moved,  as 
knowing  that  His  life  could  indeed  be  trusted 
to  fill  them,  and  His  thought  and  will  to  guide 
them.     In  Colossae,  they  were  yet  much  more 
in    Him.       And   what    a   rich    gain    for    poor 
Colossae  that  they,  being  in  Him,  were  in  it! 

As  then,  so  now,  for  us  who  "  have  believed 
to   the  saving  of  the  soul."      Where  are  we  ? 


WHAT    IS    OUR   "COLOSSI"?  29 

In  some  locality  of  earth's  surface,  where  the 
will  of  God  has  set  us.  Perhaps  in  a  spot 
familiar  to  us  from  the  dawn  of  memory,  made 
to  be  to  us  what  it  is  by  a  thousand  associa- 
tions of  love,  of  loss,  of  joy,  of  grief;  intensely 
near  to  our  consciousness,  whether  to  absorb 
affections  or  to  make  trial  felt.  Perhaps  in 
some  strange  and  alien  place,  remote  in  miles 
from  the  home  of  old  (it  may  be  on  the  other 
side  of  the  globe),  or  remoter  still  in  character 
and  circumstances.  And  we  are  meant  not 
to  ignore  this  locality,  but  to  accept  it,  to 
enter  into  it,  to  sympathize  with  it,  to  submit, 
to  love.  But  in  order  to  do  this  aright  we 
are  called  to  remember  our  other  and  trans- 
cendent locality  ;  we  are  "  in  Christ."  Yes, 
quite  as  much  as  our  Colossian  brethren, 
quite  as  supernaturally  as  they,  and  quite  as 
genuinely,  we  in  our  modern  life  (their  life 
to  them  was  as  modern)  are  "joined  to  the 
Lord."  Around  us,  in  London,  in  Liverpool, 
in  Cornwall,  in  India,  in  Canada,  in  China, 
in  Africa,  there  lies  the  "surrounding"  of 
Jesus  Christ,  for  our  life  of  faith  and  love, 
just  where  we  are.     Where  we  are,   there  is 


30  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

He.  With  every  call  of  every  hour  His 
word  is,  "Let  us  go  hence."1  And  His  com- 
panionship is  not  that  only  of  the  Companion  ; 
it  is  that  of  the  Hiding-place,  the  Sanctuary, 
the  enfolding  Presence,  the  living  and  life- 
giving  Head. 

Lord  Jesus  Christ,  enable  us  to  recollect 
this  with  a  quiet  mind,  to  act  upon  it  with  a 
restful  will ;  so  shall  we  realize  it  ever  more 
and  more  with  a  happy  heart,  full  of  thanks- 
giving to  Thee. 


1  "  'Let  us  go  hence.' 

"And  must  we  go  ?  go  from  this  quiet  place, 
This  paschal  Chamber,  where  we  listening  rest, 
And  hear  Thy  blessed  voice,  and  see  Thy  face, 
And  lean  upon  Thy  breast  ? 

"  Go  to  that  awful  Garden  ?  to  these  throngs 
Of  midnight  violence  ?  to  the  unjust  bar? 
To  all  the  dreadful  world's  insulting  wrongs 
And  impious  war  ? 

"Yes,  we  can  go,  arising  at  Thy  word; — 
Our  sacred  Place  goes  too,  our  vast  Defence  ; 
For  Thou  hast  said,  Companion,  Leader,  Lord, 
'Let  us  go  hence.'  " 

From  the  writer's  book,  I?t  the  House  of  the  Pilgrimage  : 
Hymns  and  Sacred  Songs  (Seeleys).  The  lines  were 
suggested  by  a  remark  made  to  him  by  M.  Theodore 
Monod,  of  Paris. 


ST    PAUL'S    THANKSGIVING  3 1 

But  let  us  follow  the  Apostle  as  he  dictates. 
He  is  about  to  speak  with  joy  of  his  know- 
ledge, through  Epaphras,  that  the  converts, 
"  in  Colossae,"  were  indeed  living  "  in  Christ." 

Ver.  3.  We  are  giving  thanks  to  onr  (t&5)  God,  the 
Father1  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  always,  when  praying 
on  your  behalf  (v7rep  v/xoiv,  so  read) ;  approaching 
Him,  as  we  so  often  do,  in  worshipping  intercourse 
(Trpoaevypfievoi)  about  you,  and  "  always,"  at  such 
moments,  filled  first  and  most  with  thanksgiving  for 

Ver.  4.  His  blessing  manifested  in  you  ;  having 
heard,  just  now,  from  Epaphras,  of  your  faith  in 
Christ  Jesus,  of  your  reliance  which  rests  anchored 
in  Him,  and  of  its  outcoming  effect,  the  love  which 
you  have  (read  rjv   e^ere)  to  all  the   saints,  all   your 

Ver.  5.  fellow-believers,  near  and  far  ;  on  account 
of  the  hope,  "  that  blessed  Hope,"  the  Return  of  your 
Lord,  laid  up  for  you  in  safe  keeping  {airotceiyikv^v) 
in  the  heavens,  from  which,  in  its  season,  it  shall  be 
manifested  ;  the  hope  which  you  heard  of  at  the 
first"  in  the   word,  the   message,  of  the  truth  of  the 


1  Probably  omit  <ai  before  narpi. 

2  Tipor/Kova-aTe:  thus  perhaps  the  npo-  may  be  explained, 
as  Bishop  Lightfoot  suggests.  It  contrasts  (in  this  view) 
the  original  teaching  of  St  Paul  and  his  helpers  with  the 
unsound  later  "Gospel." 


32  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

Gospel,  that  "  good  news "  so  infinitely  superior  to 
all  man-originated  speculations,  that  "  authentic 
message  of  the  skies "  which  in  divine  reality 
(akrjdeia)    comes    from    above,    instead    of   being    a 

Ver.  6.  mere  echo  to  voices  from  below  ;  which 
Gospel  has  arrived  among  you  (jrapovros  efc  u^d?), 
even  as  in  the  whole  world  besides  (teal)  it  is  fully 
bearing  fruit,1  and  growing  too  ; 2  for  it  is  a  plant 
whose  growth  is  developed  by  its  productiveness  ; 
even  as  it  is  doing  too  among  you,  ever  since  the  day 
when  you   heard   and   came   spiritually   to   know3   the 

Ver.  7.     grace  of  God  in  its  reality.     Even    as  you 


1  KapTrocjiopovfjievov.  The  middle  voice  somewhat  adds  to 
the  force  and  fulness  of  the  meaning  of  the  verb ;  this  may 
be  conveyed  by  the  rendering,  "fully  bearing  fruit." — The 
reading  best  attested  on  the  whole  omits  the  word  kciL  after  iv 
navTi  ra>  Koapa,  and  thus  allows  of  the  rendering  above  :  "  in 
the  whole  world  it  is  fruit-bearing." — It  is  scarcely  necessary 
to  point  out  that  the  words  "in  all  the  world"  are  hyper- 
bolical, but  not  therefore  untruthful,  or  even  inexact ;  they 
exactly  convey,  under  the  well-known  circumstances  of  the 
time,  the  meaning  of  the  Apostle ;  they  just  state  with 
emphasis  and  energy  the  vast  diffusion  of  the  Message  in 
the  Roman  Empire. 

2  Kal  avJ-av6fievov.  This  is  to  be  added  here  to  the 
Received  Text,  on  ample  documentary  evidence. 

3  'EneyvuiTe.  Almost  always,  by  usage  and  connexion, 
tniyivcaa-Kciv  in  the  N.  T.  means  knowledge  which  goes 
deeper  than  the  surface  of  facts  ;  and  so,  continually,  it  is 
to  be  explained  as  the  spiritual  knowledge  which  sees  the 
truth  i?i  the  fact,  and  finds  the  exfierie7ice  in  the  truth. 


A    TRULY    PAULINE    PASSAGE  33 

learnt  your  lesson  of  salvation  from  Epaphras,  our 
beloved  fellow-bondsman  in  the  sacred  slavery  of  the 
Lord  ;  who  is  a  faithful  worker  of  Christ  on  our 
Ver.  8.  behalf ; x  who  also  informed  us  of  your  love 
in  the  Spirit ;  the  love  resulting  from  that  "  love  of 
God"  which  the  Holy  Spirit  "poured  out  in  your 
hearts "  (Rom.  v.  5),  and  which  He  maintains 
within  you. 

So  the  Epistle  opens.  Nothing  could  be 
more  characteristic  of  St  Paul,  as  regards 
thought,  feeling,  and  expression.  His  heart 
and  his  mind  are  in  every  phrase,  we  may 
say  in  every  word.  It  is  entirely  like  him 
to  feel,  and  to  speak  out,  all  this  affection 
and  all  this  honour  for  these  converts  to 
Christ,  recent  as  they  were  at  the  longest, 
and  his  own  children — in  many  cases  his  own 
grandchildren — in  the  faith.  It  is  just  like  him 
to  speak  of  Epaphras,  though  only  in  passing, 
in  these  terms  of  warm  regard  and  personal 
grateful  confidence,  throwing  himself  wholly  into 
his  subordinate's  life,  and    work,  and  pastoral 

1  'Ynep  T}jj.a>v.     On  the  whole  the  evidence,  documentary  and 
internal  together,  is  for  this  reading,  and  not  for  virep  v/xwj/. 

3 


34  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

joys.  And  it  is  just  like  St  Paul  to  write  of 
the  Gospel  as  he  does,  to  speak  of  it  in  "  words 
that  burn,"  to  dwell  with  an  intensity  of  soul 
which  cannot  be  hid  upon  its  supreme  reality, 
its  dhjOeua,  and  upon  its  blessed  fulness  of 
"fruit,"  its  KapTTO(f>opia,  as  it  traverses  "the 
world "  calling  forth  the  golden  harvest  of 
faith,  love,  and  hope  at  every  step.  All  comes 
from  the  bright  depths  of  that  mighty  but 
tender  personality,  the  heart  of  the  man 
whom  the  Lord  had  made  so  rich  in  the 
capacities  of  nature,  and  then  had  transfigured 
all  through  by  revealing  Himself  to  him, 
and  taking  possession  of  him  in  the  new  life. 
And  the  style  of  the  passage  is  eminently 
characteristic.  The  long  sentence,  in  which 
clause  flows  out  of  clause  without  a  break, 
all  the  way  from  ev^apiaroviiey  to  ayaTrqv  iv 
TrvevfjiaTL,  is  as  Pauline  as  it  well  can  be  ;  the 
repeated  kclOojs,  the  "doubling  back"  of  the 
thought  where  KaOois  koI  iv  vpHv  follows  upon 
Kadajs  kglL  iv  ttolvtI  tco  Kocrfxa).  The  individu- 
ality of  the  style,  which  puts  into  legible  shape 
the  personality  of  the  man,  is  obvious  to 
every   one.      We    are    certainly    not    allowed 


SCRIPTURE    IS    HUMAN    BUT    DIVINE  35 


here  to  forget  that  the  Scripture  is  human 
as  well  as  divine.  Paul  is  as  truly  in  this 
paragraph  as  Sophocles  is  in  the  opening 
lines  of  the  Antigone,  or  Bunyan  in  the  closing 
scene  of  the  Pilgrims  Progress.  The  Holy 
Ghost  moved  His  vehicles  to  speak ;  but 
His  vehicles  were  "holy  men  of  God" 
(2  Pet.  i.   21). 

But  then  on  the  other  side  the  "men" 
were  His  vehicles.  And  we  turn  to  their 
words,  as  the  Church  from  the  first  has 
turned,  (taught  by  the  Lord  Jesus,  who  thus 
turned  in  His  own  sacred  experience  to  the 
words  of  the  Old  Testament  writers,)  as  to 
the  Word  of  God.  Let  any  one  who  pleases 
call  this  view  of  Scripture  "a  dead  dogma"  ; 
it  is  as  living  a  thing  as  the  precept  of  Jesus 
Christ  can  make  it,  backed  by  His  personal 
example. 

So  we  take  our  paragraph,  and  ask  not 
only  what  it  tells  us  of  the  heart  of  a  wonder- 
ful man,  but  what  it  says  to  us  as  the  Word 
of  life,  our  Master's  own  message,  divine, 
direct,  authoritative,  to  our  souls. 

As    such,    it    has    much    to    tell    us,    more 


36  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

than  I  can  even  indicate  here.  It  points  out 
to  us,  for  example,  the  glorious  secret, 
eternally  wonderful,  of  our  sonship  to  God  in 
Christ.  "  Grace  and  peace  from  God  our 
Father "  ;  "  We  are  giving  thanks  to  God, 
the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Let 
us  read  this  again  as  if  we  had  never  read  it 
before.  When,  long  ago,  some  of  the  Danish 
missionaries  in  India  set  their  educated  con- 
verts to  translate  a  catechism  in  which  the 
Christian's  privilege  of  sonship  was  expounded, 
one  of  the  translators  hesitated,  and  almost 
protested,  at  the  boldness,  the  incredibility,  of 
the  words.  "It  is  too  much,"  he  said;  "let 
me  rather  render  it,  They  shall  be  permitted  to 
kiss  His  feet"  It  would  indeed  be  incredible, 
were  it  not  revealed.  "  Behold,  what  manner 
of  love  !  " 

But  the  central  and  characteristic  utterance 
of  our  paragraph  lies  in  the  fourth  and  fifth 
verses.  There  the  Apostle,  who,  years  before, 
had  written  to  the  Corinthians  "  the  psalm  of 
love"  (i  Cor.  xiii.),  and  at  its  close  had 
grouped  the  blessed  three,  faith,  hope,  and 
love,  to  shine  for  ever  together  in   Christian 


FAITH  37 

thought,  recurs  to  the  same  theme,  in  the 
concrete  example  of  the  Colossians.  He  has 
heard  of  "  their  faith  in  Christ  Jesus,"  and  of 
"  the  love  which  they  have  to  all  the  saints  "  ; 
and  he  knows  that  this  faith  and  this  love  have 
their  life  and  energy  "  on  account  of  the  hope 
laid  up  for  them  in  the  heavens."  Let  us 
take  the  three  words  up  for  a  simple  meditation 
in  brief  detail. 

i.  "Their  faith  in  Christ  Jesus";  that  is  to 
say,  (to  repeat  what  we  can  never  too  distinctly 
recollect,)  their  souls'  reliance,  anchored  in 
Him,  resting  in  Him.  (For  such,  as  I  un- 
doubtedly take  it,  is  the  imagery  of  the 
phrase  here,  "in  Christ  Jesus."1  It  gives  us 
the  thought  of  reliance  going  forth  to  Christ, 
and  reposing  on  Christ,  so  as  to  sink  as  it 
were  into  Him,  and  find  fixture  in  Him  ;  as 
the  anchor  sinks  to  the  floor  of  the  sea,  and 
then  into  it,  that  it  may  be  held  in  it.) 

This  comes  first  in  the  order ;  their  faith, 
with   its  glorious   Object — Christ   Jesus.     Not 

1  nia-Tis,  Trio-Tfvciv,  k.t.X.,  are  but  rarely  constructed  with  eV. 
But  the  idea  conveyed  is  as  intelligible,  and  valuable,  as 
that  conveyed  by  etV. 


38  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

first  their  love,  nor  their  hope,  but  first  their 
faith — in  Him.  In  other  words,  He  must  come 
first  (in  the  ideal  order)  as  the  Object  of  their 
reliance ;  then  He  will  be  revealed  fully  and 
more  fully  for  ever  as  the  Object  of  their  love, 
as  it  goes  out  to  Him  and  to  His  members. 
Let  us  hold  fast  this  principle  ;  in  the  theology 
of  our  spiritual  life,  let  us  put  first  faith — that 
is  to  say,  Christ  relied  upon.  Let  us  not  fall 
into  the  specious  fallacy  which  would  discredit 
faith  in  favour  of  love  ;  with  the  almost  inevi- 
table result  of  discrediting  a  distinct,  revealed, 
and  infinitely  needed,  ground  and  warrant  of 
faith,  in  favour  of  a  religion  of  subjectivity 
and  mere  emotion.  Faith,  in  the  realities  of 
the  soul,  is  as  needful  to  love  as  the  fulcrum 
to  the  lever,  or  as  the  wick  to  the  flame. 
Love  indeed  is  "  greater  than "  faith,  from 
one  glorious  point  of  view  ;  because  faith  is 
for  the  sake  of  love  rather  than  love  for  the 
sake  of  faith.  But  who  ever  discredited  the 
foundations  of  the  Temple  in  favour  of  the  Gate 
Beautiful,  or  thought  that  the  Gate  Beautiful 
could  ever  get  beyond  its  need  of  the  founda- 
tions ?     In  the  architect's  thought  the  founda- 


love  39 

tion  was  for  the  Gate,  not  the  Gate  for  the 
foundation.  But  the  foundation,  vast,  immove- 
able, planned  with  perfect  skill,  was  majestically 
and  for  ever  needful  to  the  whole  super- 
structure. 

Christ  the  Object  of  faith  gives  faith  all 
its  value.1  But  the  value  of  faith  therefore 
is  incalculable  and  eternal.  For  in  practice 
it  means  just  this,  Christ  relied  upon  by  me 
a  sinner,  who  immeasurably  need  Him.  "Faith 
in  Christ  Jesus  "  is  the  soul's  rest,  underlying 
always  all  its  true  action. 

ii.  "  The  love  which  they  had  to  all  the 
saints!'  If  faith  is  the  soul's  rest,  love  is 
the  soul's  resultant  action.  I  say  resultant, 
for  it  is  no  less.  If  faith  is  faith  indeed,  if 
it  is  a  genuine  and  practical  reliance  upon  the 
revealed  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  then,  in  the 
spiritual  nature  of  things,  it  must  result  in 
love.  For  it  implies  some  sight  of  Him.  And 
as  it  goes  on  in  its  exercise  and  experience, 
relying  on  Him,  using  Him  as  Refuge,  Strength, 
and    Peace,    it    implies   a   genuine    intercourse 

1  I  venture  to  refer  to  the  first  chapter  of  a  little  book  of 
mine,  Patience  and  Comfort  (Marshall,  1897). 


40  C0L0SSIAN    STUDIES 

with  Him.  It  implies  a  reception  of  Him 
into  the  intimacy  of  the  soul.  It  opens  the 
door  to  Him  to  "dwell  in  the  heart,  by  faith  " 
(see  Eph.  iii.  17).  And  the  heart  where  the 
revealed  and  trusted  Christ  dwells  must  expand, 
and  flow  out  of  itself,  to  Him,  and  to  others 
because  of  Him.  It  learns,  because  He  is 
there,  in  His  practically  experienced  reality, 
to  "  find  its  delight  in  the  felicity  of  others  "  ; 
being  itself  possessed  of  such  felicity  in  Him. 

It  is  at  rest  ;  therefore  it  is  both  capacitated 
and  animated  to  work.  And  its  work  is  "'the 
labour  of  love  "  ;  the  sweet  energies  and  sweet 
sympathies  of  a  being  which  has  found  its 
ultimate  safety  and  strength,  and  will  migrate 
no  more. 

No  wonder  then  that  the  Apostle,  hearing 
of  the  "  faith  "  of  the  Colossians,  their  "  faith 
in  Christ  Jesus,"  heard  also  of  their  warm, 
practical,  and  comprehensive  "  love."  .  Nor  will 
it  be  a  wonder  that  the  connexion  and  sequence 
should  be  the  like  for  us,  by  the  grace  of  God. 
When  are  we  most  unselfish  as  Christians, 
most  ready,  most  happy,  to  sympathize,  to 
serve,  to  seek  ?     When  we  are  personally  most 


HOPE  4 1 

at  rest  in  faith.  When  we  are  most  simply, 
most  humbly,  most  freely,  relying  on  the  Lord 
Jesus,  and  finding  Him  to  be  to  us  "  according 
to  our  faith,"  then,  as  never  at  other  seasons, 
the  heart  swells  with  love  to  others,  and 
rejoices  to  take  the  most  useful  line  it  can, 
whatever  the  line  be,  to  shew  it.  When  we 
are  at  rest  in  Him,  the  work  of  love  is  but 
the  glad  expression  of  our  rest. 

iii.  "  On  accozmt  of  the  hope  laid  up  for  them 
in  the  heavens."  This  phrase,  "  on  account 
of,"  Sta  with  the  accusative,  is  noteworthy.  It 
links  closely  together  in  a  suggestive  way  "  that 
blessed  hope "  (as  it  becomes  an  experience, 
reflecting  itself  in  the  believer's  heart  as  the 
glad  feeling  of  hope  of  the  Lord's  Coming  and 
Glory)  with  the  faith  and  love  which  have  just 
been  mentioned.  Not  that  the  hope  is  the 
ground  of  either  the  faith,  or  the  love.  But 
it  is  a  grand  occasion  to  develope  them,  and 
call  them  out  into  action.  "  Because  of"  that 
wonderful  prospect,  that  promise  that  "  Christ, 
which  is  our  life,  shall  appear"  "  this  same 
Jesus,  in  like  manner  " — because  of  that,  and 
of  all  the  bliss  which  it  means  to  His  disciples 


42  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

— the  believing  heart  believes  more  consciously 
and  boldly,  and  the  loving  heart  loves  more 
gladly,  and  with  a  more  heaven-like  kindness 
of  affection.  In  particular,  with  that  hope  in 
view,  a  peculiar  warmth  and  sense  of  coherence 
comes  into  the  "love  towards  all  the  saints." 
The  thought  of  the  one  blessed  goal,  radiant 
with  the  light  of  the  countenance  of  the  coming 
King,  draws  nearer  and  nearer  together  the 
hearts  of  the  scattered  groups  on  all  the  paths 
of  the  pilgrimage  towards  it.  The  thought, 
the  fact,  the  irrevocable  promise,  of  "  our 
gathering  together  unto  Him"  acts  already, 
so  far  as  it  is  allowed  its  full  and  natural  force 
within  us,  to  gather  us  together  unto  one 
another.  St  Peter  makes  beautiful  use  of 
this  truth,  though  less  obviously,  in  his  First 
Epistle  (v.  9),  to  animate  tempted  believers  in 
faith's  resistance  to  the  tempter  ;  he  reminds 
them  of  their  fellow-believers,  and  of  the 
common  goal ;  "whom  resist,  stedfast  through 
your  faith  (crrepeot  rfj  moTei,  solid,  impenetrable, 
because  reliant  on  the  Lord)  ;  as  knowing  that 
the  same  experiences  of  tribulations  (to.  avra 
roiv  7ra6r)ixdT<i)v)  are   working   towards  the  end, 


THE    BLESSED    LIFE    AND    ITS    SECRET  43 

the  goal  (eVtreAeio-^at),  for  your  world-scattered 
brotherhood  (ttj  Kara  koct^ov  vjamv  dSeX^dr^Ti)." 
Such  is  the  life  of  faith,  love,  and  hope,  as 
"  the  word  of  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  "  sets  it 
before  us.  It  was  lived  at  Colossse  then.  It 
is  "  liveable,"  it  is  lived,  in  our  world  to-day. 
The  secret  transcends  all  time,  for  it  is  nothing 
less  than  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  blessed  Object 
of  reliance,  love,  and  expectation,  blessed 
inmost  Reason  and  Power  for  a  life  of  self- 
forgetting  service,  into  which  melancholy  and 
isolation  cannot  enter,  because  of  Him. 

"  '  Change  and  decay  in  all  around  I  see; ' 

So  runs,  as  ever,  earth's  long  mournful  story 
But  God's  own  truth,  as  ever,  sets  us  free — 
A  present  Saviour,  and  a  coming  glory." 


Hope,  Christian  soul ;  in  every  stage 
Of  this  thine  earthly  pilgrimage 
Let  heavenly  joy  thy  thoughts  engage; 
Abound  in  hope. 

Hope!  for  to  all  who  meekly  bear 

Christ's  cross,  He  gives  His  crown  to  wear; 

Abasement  here  is  glory  there; 

Abound  in  hope. 

Hope  through  the  watches  of  the  night; 
Hope  till  the  morrow  brings  thee  light; 
Hope  till  thy  faith  be  lost  in  sight; 
Abound  in  hope. 

B.  H.  Kennedy,  D.D. 


44 


THE  APOSTLE'S  PRAYER  FOR   THE 
COLOSSIANS 


45 


There  can  be  little  doubt  but  we  shall  find  that  our  most 
successful  hours  of  employment  for  our  people  were  not  those 
when  we  were  speaking  to  them  from  God  but  when  w"e  were 
speaking  for  them  to  God. 

C.  Bridges,   The  Christian  Ministry. 


46 


CHAPTER    III 

THE    APOSTLE'S    PRAYER    FOR    THE    COLOSSIANS 

COLOSSIANS    i.    9-14 

ST  PAUL  has  told  the  Colossians  of  his 
joy  over  the  good  report  of  their  spiritual 
state.  Their  faith,  their  love,  their  hope,  have 
been  depicted  to  him  in  warm  colours  by 
Epaphras  ;  he  can  think  of  them  all  as  richly 
supplied  from  their  Lord's  resources  with  all 
that  makes  the  Christian  life  glad  and  fruitful. 
They  are  indeed  "  in  the  Spirit."  Their  love, 
which  makes  itself  felt  by  "  all  the  saints,"  is 
no  mere  transitory  enthusiasm  ;  it  has  its 
"  environment,"  its  vital  air,  in  God  ;  it  is 
(ver.  8)  "  in  the  Spirit." 

What  will  the  Apostle  do  now?  He  is 
full  of  thanksgiving ;  but  he  cannot  rest  in 
even  that.  Just  because  he  is  so  thankful 
he  must  at    once  go  on  to  pray.     Have  the 

47 


48  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 


Colossians  so  truly  found  life  in  the  Name  of 
Jesus  Christ  ?  Then  he  must  at  once  ask 
that  they  may  live  it  out  in  the  right  line. 
Have  they  received  the  power,  the  fire,  of 
love,  kindled  in  the  golden  lamp  of  faith  ? 
Then  he  must  pray,  with  all  his  soul,  that  this 
power  may  be  passed  into  the  channel  of  the 
will  of  God,  this  flame  may  burn  along  the 
path  of  humble  and  happy  obedience. 

Ver.  9.  On  account  of  this,  this  recorded  fact  of 
your  spiritual  health  and  warmth,  we  also'  we  on 
our  part,  meeting  your  love  with  a  love-prompted 
prayer,  ever  since  the  day  when  we  heard  the  news 
from  Epaphras,  never  cease  praying  on  your  behalf, 
seizing  every  occasion  for  prayer,  and  maintaining 
the  spirit  of  prayer  in  literal  continuity,  and  requesting 
that  you  may  be  filled  with  the  true,  spiritual  know- 
ledge (iiriyvams,  more  than  <yvwai<; l)  of  His  will, 
the  will  of  Christ  (ver.  7) ;  "  filled "  in  the  sense  of 
a  developed  and  entire  insight  into. all  its  holiness, 
all  its  glory,  and "  into  the  ways  in  which  to  meet 
it  in  practical  life  ;  in  all  spiritual  wisdom  and 
intelligence ;  "  wisdom,"  the  noble  faculty  of  judging 
and    acting    aright,    "  intelligence,"    that    faculty    in 

1  See  above,  p.  32. 


THE    PRAYER  49 


application  to  the  living  problems  of  the  hour,  and 
both  "  spiritual,"  for  they  are  the  effect  of  the 
Ver.  10.  Spirit's  own  work  in  you  ;  to  walk  (per- 
haps, to  set  out  walking,  irepiTruTrjaai,  the  aorist,^ 
marking  a  new  departure)  in  a  way  worthy  of  the 
Lord  Christ;  in  a  humble  sense  of  "worthy,"  in  the 
sense  of  recollecting  what  He  is  and  how  He  has 
redeemed  you  ;  to  all  meeting  of  His  wishes  (apea/ceLa), 
so  as  not  only  to  obey  explicit  precepts  but  as  it 
were  to  anticipate  in  everything  His  "sweet,  beloved 
will "  always,  everywhere ' ;  in  every  good  work  (there 
must  be  no  arbitrary  selection  and  limitation  in  the 
field  of  His  work  set  before  you)  bearing  fruit  and 
growing  with  regard  to  (read  rf}  eirvyvcbtrei,  the  dative 
of  reference)  the  true  spiritual  knowledge  of  God ;  for 
that  knowledge  has  for  one  great  law  of  its  growth 
this,  that  we  love  and  do  His  will,  and  bear  the 
fruit    of   His   Spirit.      And   our    prayer    includes   a 


1  Apeantia  is  an  interesting  and  instructive  word  here 
"  In  classical  Greek  it  denotes  a  cringing  and  subservient 
habit,  ready  to  do  anything  to  please  a  patron ;  not  only  to 
meet  but  to  anticipate  his  most  trivial  wishes.  But  when 
transferred  to  .  .  .  the  believer's  relations  to  his  Lord  the 
word  at  once  rises  by  its  associations.  To  do  anything  to 
meet,  to  anticipate,  His  wishes  is  not  only  the  most  beneficial 
but  the  most  absolutely  right  thing  we  can  do.  It  is  His 
eternal  due ;  it  is  at  the  same  time  the  surest  path  to  our 
own  highest  developement  and  gain"  (Note  here  in  the 
Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools,  etc.). — Cp.  1  Thess.  iv.  1. 


50  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 


request  for  an  ever-increasing  strength  in  you  for 
Ver.  ii.  this  blessed  life,  that  you  may  be  in  all 
power  empowered,  continuously,  (the  participle  is 
present,  SvvafiovfjLevoi,)  according  to  the  might  of  His 
glory,  on  the  scale  of  the  resources  of  His  mani- 
fested Nature  (S6£a),  which  can  amply  pour  force 
into  your  weakness,  with  results  above  all  in  the 
direction  of  love  ;  to  all  patience  and  longsuifering 
with  joy ;  an  issue  not  such  as  the  world  anticipates 
from  a  gift  of  power,  but  which  is  just  in  character 
with  Him  whose  glory  it  is  to  forbear  and  to 
forgive,  while  He  is  in  all  His  holiness  "the  blissful, 
the  happy,  God"  (i  Tim.  i.  n).  And  this  life  of 
chastened  but  mighty  joy  will  be  of  its  own  nature 
a  life  of  thanksgiving  ;  so  our  prayer  includes  this 
Ver.  12.  for  you,  that  you  may  live  giving  thanks 
to  the  Father  of  our  Lord,  and  of  us  in  Him,  who 
qualified  us  to  enter  on  our  (rtjv)  portion  of  the  lot  of 
the  saints  in  the  light ;  "  qualified "  us  by  giving  us, 
in  Christ,  on  whom  we  have  believed,  the  title  to 
possess  His  blessings,  those  blessings  which  are  as 
it  were  the  New  Canaan  of  grace,  divided  among 
the  tribes  of  the  New  Israel,  and  in  which  they 
and  their  inheritance  are  alike  bright  with  "  the 
light  of  the  Lord,"  "  the  light  of  the  King's  coun- 
tenance," "  the  light  of  the  glory  of  God  in  the 
face  of  Jesus  Christ."  Yes,  He  has  given  us 
"  qualification "    for   that   inheritance  ;    and    He    has 


THE    POSSESSION  51 


given  us  also  possession.      He  has  not  only  told  us 
that  we  have  a  title  to  our  Canaan  ;  He  has  carried 

Ver.  13.  us  across  the  border  :  who  rescued  us  from 
the  authority  of  the  darkness,  that  dread  usurping 
dominion  to  which  we  had  surrendered  ourselves  in 
our  fallen  state,  the  dominion  of  the  powers  of  the 
spiritual  night,  with  its  delusion,  pollution,  and 
death,  and  transferred  us  into  the  Kingdom  of  the  Son 
of  His  love,  this  same  blessed  "  lot  of  our  inheri- 
tance," this  Canaan  of  grace,  but  now  viewed  as 
the  Kingdom  of  the  true  David.  It  is  no  land  of 
licence  miscalled  liberty,  but  full  of  the  holy  order 
and  subjection  of  obedient  love,  love  to  "  the  Son 
of  the  love  of  the  Father,"  the  Son  on  whom 
eternally  descends  the  ocean-stream  of  the  infinite 
Affection,   which   comes   on    us   also   as   we    are   in 

Ver.  14.  Him  ;  in  whom,  united  to  whom  in  cove- 
nant and  life,  we  possess  our  (jr/v)  redemption,  our 
ransom,  our  deliverance  by  the  wonderful  way  of 
law,  of  purchase,  of  emancipation,  because  of  the 
infinite  value  of  His  sacrifice  ; !  a  redemption  which 
is  in  fact  just  this,  as  to  its  great  primary  element 
(immeasurably  humbling  to  man,  and  glorifying  to 
God) — the  remission,  the  forgiveness,  of  our  sins. 

1  The  words  in  the  Received  Text  81a  tov  a'tfiaros  avrov 
should  be  omitted ;  they  were  probably  inserted  by  copyists 
from  the  closely  parallel  passage,  Eph.  i.  7.  But  the  thought 
of  them  is  present  in  the  context ;  see  ver.  20  below. 


52  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

So  closely  is  this  introductory  passage  woven, 
so  continuous  is  the  strain  of  its  deep  music, 
that  it  is  very  difficult  to  make  a  lawful  pause 
even  here.  The  words  on  which  we  do  now 
pause  are  full  of  movement  still  ;  they  are  as 
it  were  in  act  to  rise  and  swell  into  the  great 
paragraph  which  follows,  and  in  which  the 
surpassing  personal  glory  of  the  Son  of  God 
shines  out  unveiled.  But  I  venture,  almost 
arbitrarily,  to  reckon  this  the  full-stop,  and 
to  ask  the  reader  to  stand  still  with  me  here 
and  look  back  and  look  round  upon  the 
treasures  we  have  touched. 

The  messages  to  the  soul  are  many  in  these 
six  verses.  The  first  and  the  most  compre- 
hensive of  them  is  the  message  of  the  motive 
of  the  Apostle's  prayer  for  the  Colossians. 
He  and  Timotheus,  he  says,  are  very  much 
in  prayer  for  them  ;  so  much  so  that,  with  a 
hyperbole  which  is  perfectly  truthful  to  the 
heart,  he  speaks  of  the  petitions  as  "incessant." 
They  are  the  outcome  of  a  great  desire,  a 
deep  consciousness  of  a  real  occasion,  a  need 
for  which  the  supplies  of  God  are  urgently 
required.     And   what   is   the    need  ?     Are  the 


WHAT    PROMPTED    THE    PRAYER  53 

Colossians  so  low  and  so  cold  in  spiritual  life  ? 
Is  everything  on  the  decline  ?  No  ;  it  is  the 
very  opposite.  They  are  so  full  of  faith,  hope, 
and  love,  "  love  in  the  Spirit.  They  have 
such  a  noble  fruit-bearing  capacity  ;  they  are 
in  a  condition  of  such  vigorous  growth.  There- 
fore he  prays  for  them,  as  well  as  gives  thanks. 
For  the  state  in  which  they  are  has  inevitably, 
with  its  blessings,  its  risks  also.  It  is  the 
very  state  in  which  a  lack  of  direction  may 
bring  loss,  if  not  disaster.  The  sails  are  set 
so  full  that  the  need  of  compass  and  rudder 
is  the  more  pressing.  Let  the  warm  and 
loving  community  begin  to  live  its  spiritual 
life  on  the  wrong  line,  let  it  get  into  wrong 
convictions  about  the  will  of  God,  the  work 
of  Christ,  the  manifestation  of  holiness,  and 
it  may  follow  those  convictions  to  all  the 
greater  lengths  for  the  initial  energy  in  which 
they  were  taken  up. 

So  he  prays  for  them,  as  for  souls  in  need, 
that  they  may  before  everything  else  "  be  filled 
with  the  true  knowledge  of  the  will  of  God." 
He  asks  first  that  they  may  advance  in  the 
"  wisdom    and    intelligence "    of    the    spiritual 


54  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

life  ;  that  they  may  be,  under  the  guidance  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  men  of  balanced  minds  and 
quick  discernment,  not  soon  carried  away  by 
specious  counterfeits  of  truth  ;  quick  to  see 
the  bearings  of  doctrine  and  duty.  He  asks 
that  their  practical  conduct  may  be  such  as  is 
"  worthy  of  the  Lord"  ;  always  regulated  by 
the  fact  that  they  have  a  Master,  a  King,  who 
has  saved  them,  and  whose  will,  definite  and 
revealed,  is  to  be  their  law.  They  are  not 
to  be  content  with  the  warm  consciousness 
of  religious  emotions  ;  they  are  to  live  their 
spiritual  life  in  the  line  of  a  Master's  orders. 
Nay  more,  they  are  so  to  fill  their  thoughts 
with  Him,  with  Him  as  Master,  that  they 
shall  delight  to  anticipate  His  words  by  the 
loyal  study  of  His  mind,  going  out  to  meet 
Him  in  a  noble  "eagerness  to  please."  He 
prays  that  the  Colossians  may  be  always 
practically  pious,  ''bearing  fruit  in  every  good 
work"  never  content  with  theory  and  reverie  ; 
and  that  so  they  may  grow  in  that  true  know- 
ledge of  their  God  which  no  reveries  apart 
from  obedience  can  ever  bring.  And  then 
he  prays  that  every  access  of  spiritual  power, 


"A    HEART    AT    LEISURE    FROM    ITSELF  55 

flowing  out  of  His  secret  source,  may  express 
itself  above   all    things    in    ways   which    shew 
the  dethronement  of  self-will  ;  in  perseverance 
under  trial    (vTrojxovrj),   in    longsuffering    under 
provocation  ({xaKpoOvjxia),  and  in  the  joy  (xa/3**) 
of  "a  heart  at  leisure  from  itself"  and  occupied 
with    Christ.     He   prays  finally  that   this  joy 
may  take  continually  the  fair  form  of  thanks- 
giving  for   the    wonder,  the   miracle,  of  their 
salvation.      May    their    happy   thoughts    tend 
steadily  that  way  ;  occupied  with  the  Father's 
free   gift    of  sonship    in     His    family,    and    of 
wealth    in    His    Canaan,    partnership   with   all 
saints   in  the  Holy  Land  of  grace,  under  the 
unsetting  Sun  of  Love  ;   never  forgetting  how 
their  God  sent  to  seek  them  in  the  dark  Egypt 
of  the  Fall  and  brought  them  over  to  be  the 
blessed  subjects,  the  ennobled  vassals,  of  His 
own    Beloved    One.     May   they  recollect  that 
to  that  King  they  not  only  belong  as  subjects  ; 
they  are  joined  to   Him  as  limbs;  "in   Him," 
and  in    Him  alone,  they  no  longer  seek  only 
but  possess  "  the  redemption,"  the  ransom  and 
release,  of  a  wonderful,  an  abundant,  pardon. 
"  Beware,"    some    one    has     said,    "of    an 


$6  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

untheological  devotion."  The  sentence  may 
be  distorted  to  mean  what  is  absurd.  But 
rightly  taken  it  is  a  word  of  truth  and  wisdom. 
By  "  untheological  "  is  intended  what  is  base- 
less, unauthorized,  unreasoned;  a  "devotion" 
which  is  careless  of  its  ground,  its  revealed 
warrant,  and  also  of  the  true  glory  of  its 
Object.  And  the  caution  has  reference  to 
the  fact  that  such  "  untheological  devotion " 
has  a  natural  tendency  either  to  evaporate  or 
to  degenerate ;  worship  can  be  kept  both  pure 
and  warm  only  by  being  kept  in  Watchful 
contact  with  its  true  Object  and  Reason. 

St  Paul  has  here  just  such  a  thought  in  view. 
This  noble  passage,  this  prayer  in  solemn 
detail  for  these  living  and  loving  souls,  is  no 
mere  exercise  of  sacred  rhetoric.  It  has  to  do 
with  the  joy  he  feels  over  Colossal,  but  also 
with  the  fears  he  has  about  the  permanence 
of  its  blessings.  He  dreads  the  prospect  of 
an  alien  teaching  and  influence  laying  hold 
of  this  fine  material  and  moulding  it  all  awry. 
And  so  he  tells  them  that  he  is  praying  for 
them,  and  asking  just  these  "  theological " 
blessings  ; — a    growth  in   spiritual    wisdom,   in 


"A    THEOLOGICAL    DEVOTION"  57 

the  knowledge  of  God,  in  a  temper  chastened 
self- wards  and  rejoicing  God-wards ;  a  per- 
petual thankfulness  for  a  salvation  nobly 
"  theological,"  in  which  they  shall  bless  their 
Father  and  their  Redeemer  for  no  vague  and 
indefinite  mercies,  but  for  endowment  and 
covenant  under  which  they  stand  rescued  from 
a  tremendous  evil  and  constituted  the  lawful 
vassals  of  their  atoning  King.  He  prays  that 
they  may  not  only  be  warm  and  earnest,  but 
may  know  profoundly  the  reason  of  their  hope. 
He  prays  above  all  that  their  "  theological 
devotion  "  may  get  immortal  life  and  strength 
from  this,  that  it  is  all  related  to  an  infinitely 
blessed  Person,  the  Son  of  the  Father's  love, 
and  to  the  Father  through  Him. 

So  thinking,  so  worshipping,  they  would  be 
happy,  but  they  would  also  be  forearmed. 
They  would  not  lightly  then  be  "  beguiled  of 
their  reward."  The  specious  counterfeits  of 
truth  would  find  from  them  no  indolent  and 
unsuspicious  welcome  ;  they  would  miss  in  the 
"  other  gospel  "  the  well-understood  character- 
istics of  the  old ;  and  they  would  know  that 
the  old  was  better. 


58  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

This  prayer  of  St  Paul's,  thus  read  in  the 
context  of  the  Epistle,  is  no  untimely  message 
for  us.  In  many  quarters  of  our  Christendom 
nothing  is  more  in  fashion  than  "  an  untheo- 
logical  devotion."  "The  religious  sentiment" 
is  regarded  far  and  wide  as  a  thing  which  can 
live  and  be  healthy  with  a  very  minimum  of 
revelation,  and  with  an  almost  nil  of  reasoned  f 
doctrine  ;  above  all  of  the  doctrine  of  a  divine 
Christ,  an  atoning  Cross,  and  a  rescue  from 
"  the  authority  of  the  darkness."  But  such 
"sentiment,"  however  warm,  has  no  ultimate 
"last"  in  it.  Under  very  moderate  pressure 
from  fashions  of  thought,  and  from  attractive 
personalities,  it  is  ready  to  go  as  far  as  possible 
from  the  ground  on  which  alone  the  world, 
the  flesh,  and  the  devil  can  be  really  met. 

Let  us  pray  for  ourselves,  and  for  others, 
"  in  these  dangerous  days,"  along  the  line 
of  this  apostolic  prayer.  Let  us  pray  for 
nothing  short  of  a  growth  in  the  knowledge 
of  God,  and  of  a  thanksgiving  to  the  Father 
who  has  given  us,  in  His  Son,  the  forgiveness 
of  our  sins,  and  the  radiant  Canaan  of  His 
grace.     Let  us  pray  that  above  all  we  may  be 


"THE    MEETING    OF    HIS    WISHES"  59 

continually  preoccupied  against  all  that  is  really 
alien  to  peace  and  holiness,  by  being  occupied 
with  the  Saviour  of  our  souls,  in  His  Person, 
His  work,  His  love,  His  glory.  Would  we 
be  protected  beforehand  against  the  malaria 
of  misbelief?  Let  us  cultivate  true  joy  in  the 
true  Lord.1 

So  far  we  have  noticed  the  message  con- 
veyed to  us  by  this  paragraph  as  a  whole — 
the  message  of  the  motive  of  the  Apostle's 
prayer  for  the  Colossians.  Let  us  now  turn 
to  certain  points  of  detail.  Apart  from  its 
general  context,  the  prayer  conveys  to  us 
some  truths  of  the  first  order. 

i.  Observe  then  the  implied  precept  of  that 
petition,  "  that  you  may  walk  in  a  way  worthy 
of  the  Lord,  to  all  meeting  of  His  wishes," 
€ts  nacrav  dpecrKeiav.  In  a  note  to  the  para- 
phrase there  I  spoke  about  the  proper  meaning 
of  the  Greek  word,  and  its  bad  and  ignoble 
connexions    in    the  classics ;   and   then  of  the 

1  I  venture  to  refer  to  my  Phili££ian  Studies,  ch.  viii., 
for  further  remarks  in  this  direction,  occasioned  by  the 
exposition  of  Phil.  iii.  1. 


6o  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 


magic  with  which  the  Gospel  has  transfigured 
it.  I  touch  it  again  only  to  point  out  how 
it  suggests  to  us  the  intended  intimacy  and 
endearment  of  the  relation  of  wish  and  will 
between  the  believer  and  the  Lord.  We  are 
meant,  in  the  light  of  this  transfigured  word, 
apecrKeLa,  to  think  of  His  will  as  an  affectionate 
servant  thinks  of  the  wishes  (not  merely  of  the 
spoken  or  written-down  orders)  of  the  master, 
or  the  mistress,  who  has  made  the  house  of 
service  a  genuine  home,  and  has  almost,  hidden 
authority  away  in  friendship.  Even  such  an 
illustration  scarcely  satisfies  the  case.  This 
"  anticipatory  obedience  "  is  rather  to  be  that 
of  a  devoted  son  to  a  parent,1  to  a  loving  and 
beloved  parent,  to  whom  perhaps  the  son  has 
not  been  always  dutiful.  How  can  he  now  do 
enough  to  undo  that  lamented  past?  How 
can  he  too  much  try,  and  delight,  to  obliterate 
the  scars  of  past  neglect  by  a  present  studious 
and  watchful  "  meeting  of  the  wishes  "  ? 


1  Not  that  we  ought  ever  unreservedly  to  compare  our 
Saviour  to  a  Father.  He  is  distinctively  the  Elder  Brother. 
But  there  are  elder  brothers  in  common  life  whose  love  and 
goodness  command  filial  thoughts  from  their  juniors. 


"EXPLORE   THE   WISH"  6 1 

In  a  singularly  beautiful  passage  in  the  fine 
Prologue  to  the  Satires,  Pope  speaks  of  the 
watch  he  keeps  over  his  aged  mother's  happi- 
ness ;    how  it  is  his  delight  to 

"  Explore  the  wish,  explain  the  asking  eye, 
And  save  awhile  one  parent  from  the  sky." 

That  first  line  is  exactly  the  "  anticipation  of 
the  will "  of  which  St  Paul  speaks  here  ;  only 
it    is    glorified    by    its    application    not    to    a 
mother's  old  age  but  to  the  even  nobler  object 
of  a    Redeemer's   unseen    presence.     Shall    it 
be  so  between   us  and   Him  ?     Shall    we  not 
"  explore  His  wish  "  ?     Shall  we  disappoint  the 
'  asking  eye  "  which  is  "  upon  us  "  (Ps.  xxxii. 
8  :  "  Mine  eye  upon  thee,"  Heb.),  and  whose 
condescending   love   does    even    "  ask "    us    to 
serve  and  please  ?     Have   we    not    often    dis- 
appointed it  in  the  past  ?     Shall  we  not  now 
more   than    meet    it,    especially    in    the    small, 
passing  things  in  which  love  may  be  so  easily 
slighted,  so  tenderly  met  and  served  ? 

ii.  Then  we  take  particular  note  of  that 
other  bright  detail  of  the  passage,  in  ver.  1 1 ; 
"  in    all    power   empowered   according   to    the 


62  COLOSSI  AN    STUDIES 

might  of  His  glory,  to  all  patience  and  long- 
suffering  with  joy."  This  is  one  of  several 
Pauline  passages  which  put  before  us  the 
beautiful  paradox  of  holy  power  coming  out 
in  holy  gentleness.  The  amplest  of  all  these 
passages  is  that  in  Ephesians,  where  the  third 
chapter  ends  and  the  fourth  begins.  The 
third  chapter  leads  us  deep  into  the  great 
fountains  of  life  and  power  in  the  heart  of 
the  Rock  of  Ages.  We  see  the  Christian 
"  strengthened  by  the  Spirit  in  the  inner  man," 
and  receiving  Christ  into  his  very  heart,  and 
"  filled,  up  to  all  the  fulness  of  God,"  and  living 
upon  Him  who  can  do  far,  far  "  more  than  we 
ask  or  think,  according  to  His  power  working 
in  us."  The  words  cannot  go  further  in  pre- 
senting to  us  the  more  than  gigantic  forces 
which  are  provided  for  us  in  our  union  and  com- 
munion with  God  in  Christ.  But  how  are  those 
forces  to  be  used?  Is  the  Christian,  in  contact 
with  this  "giant's  strength,"  to  "use  it  like  a 
giant  "  ? l     No  ;  he  is  to  use  it  like  a  Christian. 

1  "  O  it  is  excellent 
To  have  a  giant's  strength,  but  it  is  tyrannous 
To  use  it  like  a  giant." 

Measure  for  Measure,  ii.  2. 


HOW    TO    USE    THE   "  GIANT'S    STRENGTH"      63 

How  does  the  fourth  chapter  of  Ephesians 
begin  ?  With  an  "  entreaty  "  from  "  the  prisoner 
of  the  Lord,"  on  the  very  account  of  what  he 
has  just  said,  to  "  walk  worthy  of  the  calling  in 
all  lowliness  and  meekness,  with  longsufifering, 
forbearing  one  another  in  love,  striving  to 
keep  the  oneness  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of 
peace."  The  "giant's  strength"  is  to  be  used, 
first  and  most,  upon  and  against  self-will,  self- 
pleasing,  self-assertion,  self-advertisement ;  it  is 
to  be  turned  in  upon  all  that  contradicts  love  ; 
and  then  it  is  to  be  poured  out  along  the  line 
of  love.  So  it  is  to  be  used  in  a  way  exactly 
unlike  that  of  the  "  giant "  of  the  poet's  words. 

In  a  briefer  but  not  less  pregnant  form  the 
same  precious  truth  in  paradox  is  here.  Very 
probably  this  verse,  Col.  i.  n,  is  the  germ  of 
the  more  developed  passage,  Eph.  iii.,  iv., 
which  was  written  just  later.  What  words, 
even  in  Eph.  iii.,  are  much  stronger  than  these 
as  to  the  "  giant's  strength"  which  is  for  us  in 
the  "Stronger  than  the  strong"?  "Empowered 
in  all  power — according  to,  on  the  scale  of, 
the  might  of  His  glory  "  ;  in  a  sense  and  in  a 
measure   calculated  by  that   wonderful   source, 


64  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

"  His    glory,"    His    nature    in    its    manifested 
splendour  of  life   and    love  !      And    this,   con- 
tinuously ;    so    the    Greek    tells    us,    with    its 
present  participle,  SvvafjLovfxevoi.     We  need  fear 
no  exhaustion,  as  if  a  single  great  deposit  were 
given   us,  and  we  might  now  be  getting  near 
its  end.     No  ;    our  "  Rock   follows  us."     The 
secret  of  power  is  continually  at  our  side.     As 
the  occasions  rise,  we  are  to  draw  again,  and 
again,  and  always,  from  its  waters,  which  stand 
always  at  the  brim.     And  then — what  js  to  be 
the  resultant  stream  ?     Not,  primarily,  a  rush 
of  energies,  a  torrent  of  witness,   a  blaze    of 
miracles,  a  life  which  is  to  "  make  history  "  in 
the  world's  sense  of  the  words.     It  is  to  be 
"  unto  all  patience  and  longsuffering,  with  joy." 
The  life  is  to  be  deep  and  strong  with  that 
"  patience  "  which  means  a  calm  persistency  in 
doing  and  bearing  the  will  of  God  ;  and  with 
that  "longsuffering"  which  means  the    power 
to    meet    "  the    provoking   of   all    men"    with 
a   heart   free   from    itself   and    bound    to    the 
Lord   of  love;    and   with   that    "joy"    which 
means   living,    conscious,   absolute   satisfaction 
in  Him. 


OUR  CANAAN  IS  HERE  AND  NOW      65 

The  wonderful  "power"  is  to  be  the  power 
which  overwhelms  the  life  of  self,  and  shines 
with  the  love  of  God  in  intercourse  with  man. 
Shall  we  not  here  also  pray  in  the  line  of 
St  Paul's  petition,  first  for  ourselves,  then  for 
the  whole  Church  of  Christ  ?  And  as  we  pray 
we  will  humbly  open  our  hands  to  the  Promiser, 
to  receive. 

iii.  Again,  we  observe  in  the  prayer  that 
pregnant  phrase  which  throws  the  light  of  glory 
upon  the  life  of  grace ;  "He  qualified  us  to 
enter  on  our  portion  of  the  lot  of  the  saints 
in  the  light."  The  words  read  at  first  sight 
as  if  they  must  mean,  simply,  heaven ;  the 
light  of  the  countenance  of  "  the  King  in  His 
beauty,"  in  "  the  land  that  is  very  far  off." 
And  they  are  fully  worthy  of  the  reference ;  if 
in  hymn,  or  prayer,  or  exhortation,  we  ever 
find  them  so  applied,  let  us  welcome  and  use 
the  application.  Nevertheless,  the  immediate 
context  may  assure  us  that  they  refer  properly 
to  the  believer's  position  and  possession  "even 
now."  This  Canaan  is  not  in  the  distance, 
beyond  death ;  it  is  about  us  to-day,  in  our 
home,  in  our  family,  in  our   business,  in   our 

5 


66  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

worship,  in  our  company,  in  our  solitude,  in  our 
joys,  in  our  tears,  in  all  that  makes  up  mortal 
life.  This  "  light "  is  not  the  glow  of  the  sky  as 
it  is  stretched  above  the  hills  of  immortality  ;  it 
falls  upon  the  plains  of  time ;  it  is  shed  around 
the  trying,  the  commonplace,  the  exhausting 
pathway  of  to-day.  What  is  the  Canaan  ?  It 
is  "  the  Kingdom  of  the  Son  "  of  God.  And 
we  are  in  it,  for  we  are  in  Him.  What  is  the 
light,  the  sunshine  ?  It  is  the  glory  of  the 
Father's  love,  without  a  cloud.  And  we  are 
in   "  the  Son  of  His  love." 

Already,  "  Christ  is  Paradise,"  to  the  disciple 
who  believes  and  loves.  Already  we  are 
called  to  "  walk  in  the  light,  as  He  is  in  the 
light,"  and  to  "  have  fellowship  with  one 
another,"  He  with  us,  we  with  Him.  Shall 
this  too  be  our  material  for  prayer — and  for 
reliant  and  receiving  faith  ? 

iv.  Lastly,  and  in  fewest  words,  our  para- 
graph has  a  message  straight  to  the  primary 
need  of  us  sinners.  "In  Him  we  have  our 
redemption,  the  forgiveness  of  sins."  There 
we  evermore  go  back  in  recollection,  and  in 
faith,  amidst  all  the  blessings  which  are  meant 


"WE    HAVE    FORGIVENESS"  6j 

to  anticipate  glory  itself  in  the  fulness  of  grace. 
In  this  wonderful  Canaan,  in  the  Kingdom  of 
the  Son,  delivered  from  the  dark  dominion 
of  the  Egypt  of  spiritual  death,  we  need  still, 
we  seek  still,  we  have  still,  that  humbling  but 
most  precious  and  purifying  gift,  the  forgiveness 
of  our  sins.  And  it,  like  everything  else,  is 
ours  "  in  Him." 


Who  can  fathom  the  abyss 

Where  Thou  plunged'st  for  our  love  ? 
Who  conceive  the  glorious  bliss 

Waiting  on  Thy  steps  above? 

*  *  *  * 

Lord,  when  we  recall  the  story 
Of  Thy  lowliness  and  glory, 
Keep  us,  lest  we  fall  from  Thee, 
Through  that  awful  mystery. 

Anstice. 


6S 


THE    PRE-EMINENCE    OF    THE    SON 
OF   GOD 


69 


O    UNEXAMPLED    love, 

Love  nowhere  to  be  found  less  than  divine! 
Hail,  Son  of  God,  Saviour  of  men !     Thy  name 
Shall  be  the  copious  matter  of  my  song 
Henceforth,  nor  ever  shall  my  harp  Thy  praise 
Forget,  nor  from  Thy  Father's  praise  disjoin. 

Milton. 


70 


CHAPTER    IV 

THE    PRE-EMINENCE   OF    THE    SON    OF    GOD 

COLOSSIANS    i.    I5-20 

THE  Prayer  of  St  Paul  for  the  Colossians, 
or  rather,  his  account  of  it  to  them,  is 
now  over,  at  least  in  the  sense  of  explicit 
petitions.  He  has  told  them  what  he  has  been 
asking  for  them  ;  an  always  clearer  insight 
into  the  will  of  God,  a  tenderer  love  of  it, 
a  life  whose  tone  is  deeply  chastened,  while 
happy,  just  because  of  the  divine  power  at  its 
heart,  and  a  spirit  of  warmer  thanksgiving  to 
the  blessed  Father,  in  view  of  an  assured  part 
and  lot  in  the  Canaan-kingdom  of  His  Son. 

The  prayer  has  no  formula  of  conclusion, 
no  ascription  and  Amen.  It  closes  by  rising 
without  a  break  into  the  utterance  of  a  wonder- 
ful Credo,  a  worshipping  and  enraptured  con- 
fession   of  the   glory    of  the    Christ    of  God, 

71 


7  2  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

whose  Person  has    filled   the    last    phrases    of 
the  prayer. 

This  Creed  of  Christ's  Pre-eminence,  if  I 
may  call  it  so,  is  a  passage  of  the  highest 
possible  importance  for  Christian  Doctrine. 
It  gives  us  some  great  fundamental  data  for 
a  believing  Theology  of  both  the  Person  and 
the  Work  of  the  Lord.  And  it  was  un- 
doubtedly written  with  a  definitely  doctrinal 
purpose ;  it  recites  the  wonders  of  what  "  the 
Son  of  the  Father's  love"  is,  in  His  eternity, 
in  His  relation  to  the  Universe,  in  His  re- 
lation to  the  Church,  with  a  manifest  regard 
to  the  alien  teaching  which  was  invading 
Colossae.  Whatever  that  teaching  was  from 
other  sides,  it  was,  as  regarded  Christ,  the 
Christ  of  Salvation,  a  theory  minimizing,  de- 
rogatory, and  in  that  sense  hostile.  As  we 
have  seen  (ch.  i.),  it  depreciated  His  Person, 
by  beclouding  it  with  a  pantheon  of  almost 
rival  angel-powers.  And  it  depreciated  His 
work,  by  insisting  on  a  ceremonial  connexion 
and  a  certain  ascetic  discipline,  in  order 
to    supplement   and   as    it   were    support    His 


THE   WRITER    LIVES    IN    HIS    MESSAGE  73 

salvation.  Such  tendencies  the  Apostle  meets 
here  first  by  this  assertion,  this  confession, 
of  the  unapproachable  pre-eminence  of  Jesus 
Christ  from  every  point  of  view. 

But  let  us  not  think  only  of  the  dogmatic 
occasion  and  direction  of  the  passage.  For 
surely  as  it  rose  in  the  soul  and  the  mind  of 
its  writer  it  was  immensely  much  to  him,  as 
well  as  a  great  message  to  others.  Can  we 
read  it,  and  not  feel  that  it  glows  and  moves 
with  a  personal  "joy  in  believing  "  ?  He  is  not 
only  discoursing,  still  less  discussing ;  he  is 
worshipping.  Upon  his  own  heart  this  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  is  rising  and  shining,  in  all 
His  majesty,  and  mercy,  and  necessity,  and 
infinitely  fair  beauty.  St  Paul  is  writing  for 
Colossae,  but  it  is  about  a  Lord  whom  he  is 
beholding  for  himself;  "in  Him  believing, 
he  rejoices,  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of 
glory." 

It  is  thus  that  the  Bible  always  gives  us  its 
theology.  The  divine  Book  is  full  of  articulate 
and  reasoned  statements  of  eternal  verities 
about  God,  and  Christ,  and  man.  It  puts 
these  things  into  forms  which  are  both  models 


74  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

and  powerful  stimulants  for  religious  thought 
and  teaching  as  scientific  (if  the  word  may  be 
used)  as  possible.  Age  after  age  Scripture 
has  occasioned,  it  has  demanded,  from  the 
deepest  and  acutest  minds  all  the  attention 
they  can  give  in  order  worthily  to  analyse, 
arrange,  and  expound,  its  dogmatic  contents. 
A  French  thinker,  himself  not  a  believer  in 
Christianity,  has  affirmed  his  conviction  that 
the  scientific  study  of  the  data  of  the  Christian 
Creed  has  been  the  most  powerful  of  all  the 
elements  in  the  education  of  the  European 
mind.  Yet  the  Book  which  presents  those 
data,  and  presents  them  so  often  in  forms  of 
great  completeness  as  regards  reasoning  and 
expression,  never  (may  I  not  say  never  ?)  pre- 
sents them  merely  as  in  a  lecture,  or  a  treatise. 
They  are  all  passed  through  the  heart.  The 
dogmatic  prediction  is  shaped  in  the  very  soul, 
usually  the  suffering  soul,  of  the  seer  who 
utters  it.  The  dogmatic  exposition  is  written 
down  by  a  teacher  who  as  it  were  writes 
upon  his  knees,  and  looks  up  continually 
from  his  argument  to  worship  the  Subject 
of    it,    with    love,    and    joy,    and    tears.       It 


TRUTH    PASSED    THROUGH    THE    HEART         ?$ 

is  so  here.  It  is  so  in  such  passages  as 
Rom.  iii.-viii.,  and  i  Cor.  xv.,  and  the  whole 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  and  the  First  Epistle 
of  St  John.  All  is  oracle.  But  the  human 
heart,  new-created  by  the  Lord,  and  filled 
with  Him,  is  the  temple  where  this  oracle  is 
delivered.  And  we  who  so  receive  our  oracles 
of  eternal  truth  and  life  are  bound  to  carry 
them  away  and  use  them  in  a  spirit  worthy  of 
their  origin.  Our  creed  is  never  to  be  a  mere 
code  of  propositions  in  the  abstract.  It  is  to 
breathe  and  glow,  even  where  it  is  most 
systematic,  with  the  Christian's  own  experience 
of  worship,  rest,  and  joy,  in  full  sight  of  the 
glory  of  Him  who  has  loved  him  and  has  died 
for  him. 

Let   us    follow  the  Apostle's    thought   then 
as    it   rises  through    prayer    into   worshipping 
confession. 

Ver.  15.    Who   is   Image   of  God,   the   Unseen   God ; 
whether  in  the  heavenly  world,1  or  in  ours,  it  is  in 


1  So  the  context  indicates.  The  reference  is  not  only  to 
the  visibility  of  the  Lord  Incarnate,  but  to  His  being  always 
and  everywhere,  eternally,  the  Manifestation  of  the  Father. 


76  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 


Him  that  the  Father  is  beheld  as  He  is ;  Firstborn 
over  all  creation,1  Himself  "not  created  but  begotten," 
the  SON,  the  Heir  of  all  things,  and  thus  eternally 
antecedent  to  all  contingent  and  created  being ; 
as  is  seen  when  we  ponder  His  relation  to  it ; 
Ver.  16.  because  in  Him  (iv  avrw :  certainly  not  "  by 
Him  ")  were  created,  constituted  in  existence,  eKrladrj,' 
all  things  that  are  (ra  iravra) — yes,  "  in  Him,"  as  the 
Effect  is  in  its  Cause  ; — in  Him  lay  eternally  the 
power  and  the  law  of  their  becoming  and  being 3 ; 

1  npwrdroKos  nda-rjs  Kriaecos :  the  words  can  of  course  be 
rendered  "Firstborn  of  all  creation,"  and  this  would  (on  the 
surface)  seem  to  mean,  "Created,  and  so  belonging  to 
creation ;  only,  created  before  all  other  creatures."  But  the 
immediate  following  context  is  clearly  against  such  a  mean- 
ing, for  it  aims  manifestly  to  difference  the  Son  of  God  from 
all  created  things ;  they  were  "  created  in  Him,  through 
Him,  andy^r  Him."  The  genitive  Kritreas  thus  invites  us  to 
explain  it  as  a  genitive  of  relation  :  "  Firstborn  in  His  relation 
to  the  ktIo-is  " ;  i.e.  the  First  born  of  the  Eternal,  His  great 
Son  and  Heir,  One  with  Him  in  Being  and  Glory ;  and  thus 
related  to  the  created  Universe  as  {a)  its  Antecedent,  (b)  its 
Lord. — Cp.  Ps.  lxxxix.  27,  "  I  will  make  Him  My  Firstborn. " 
The  Rabbis,  in  view,  of  that  passage,  gave  the  title  "First- 
born" to  Messiah,  and  the  Alexandrian  Philo  used  a  similar 
word  of  his  mysterious  "  Logos." 

'J  Krifciv  does  not  £er  se  mean  ' '  to  bring  into  being  out  of 
nothing"  (save  the  creative  Will).  But  by  connexion  and 
usage  it  can  denote  this  ;  like  the  Hebrew  bard. 

3  "A  meaning  more  recondite  has  been  seen  here  .  .  .  that 
the  Son,  the  Logos,  is  as  it  were  the  archetypal  Universe,  the 
Sphere  and  Summary  of  all  finite  being  as  it  existed  ...  in 


CHRIST    AND    THE    UNSEEN    UNIVERSE  yj 

all  things,  I  say,  in  the  heavens  and  on  the  earth,1 
that  is  to  say,  in  all  regions  of  created  existence, 
the  visible  things  and  the  invisible,  alike  worlds  and 
personalities,  and  now  particularly  the  personalities 
of  the  superhuman  sphere,  whether  thrones,  or  lord- 
ships, or  governments,  or  authorities,  whatever  be  the 
ranks  and  orders  of  the  hierarchy  of  the  Unseen, 
and  whether  they  be  the  powers  who  stood,  or  the 
powers  who  fell  from  "  their  first  estate  " 2 ;  all  things 
that  are  (ra  irdvra)  stand  created  (eKriarac,  perfect), 

the  Eternal  Mind,  and  accordingly  that,  when  it  came  into 
being  in  time,  its  '  creation '  was  '  in '  Him  who  thus  summed 
it  up.  .  .  .  Such  a  view  is  rather  read  into  the  words  .  .  . 
from  non-Christian  philosophies  than  derived  from  the  words" 
(Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools,  etc). — Some  important  matter 
on  this  point  will  be  found  in  Dr  J.  H.  Rigg's  work,  Moder?? 
Anglican  Theology. 

1  Read  iv  rails  ovpavols  Kai  in\  tt}?  yrjs,  not  to  ev  .   .   .  to.  tm. 

3  It  seems  clear  to  me  that  St  Paul  is  here  alluding  to  these 
celestial  ranks  as  realities,  not  as  creations  of  the  imagination 
which  he  would  sweep  away  out  of  thought.  In  a  context  like 
this,  where  everything  is  meant  to  exalt  the  glory  of  the  Son 
of  God,  he  would  surely  put  Him  before  us  as  the  creative 
Cause  not  of  imaginary  but  of  real  hosts  and  powers.  That 
St  Paul  may,  and  probably  does,  include  the  now  rebel  spirits 
is  clear  from  e.g.  Eph.  vi.  12. — Theories  of  angelic  orders 
appear  early  in  Christian  and  semi-Christian  literature,  but 
are  fully  developed  in  the  Celestial  Hierarchy,  written  (cent, 
v.  or  vi.)  under  the  name  of  Dionysius  the  Areopagite.  From 
his  enumeration  Milton  borrowed  his  majestic  line, 

"Thrones,  Dominations,  Princedoms,  Virtues,  Pow'rs." 
See  note  on  Eph.  i.  22  in  the  Cambridge  Bible/or  Schools,  etc. 


7  8  COLOSSI  AN    STUDIES 

constituted  in  existence,  by  means  of  Him  (oV  avrov) 
as  the  sublime  Agent  of  the  Father,  and  unto  Him 
(et?  avTov),  so  that  their  final  cause  is  to  serve  His 
will,  to  contribute  to  His  glory  ;  He  who  is  their 
Creator  is  also  their  Goal.1  Their  whole  being, 
willingly  or  unwillingly,  moves  that  way — to  Him  ; 
whether,  as  His  blissful  servants,  they  shall  be  as 
it  were  His  throne ;  or,  as  His  stricken  enemies, 
Ver.  17.  "  His  footstool."  And  He,  He  in  emphasis 
(avros),  is  before  all  things  ;  IS,  not  only  was  ;  with 
a  being  before  because  above  all  time ;  and  these 
(to)  "  all  things  "  in  Him  are  held  together  (aweaTrj/ce) ; 
He  is  not  their  Cause  only,  in  an  initial  sense  ;  He 
is  for  ever  their  Bond,  their  Order,  their  Law,  the 
ultimate  Secret  which  makes  the  whole  Universe, 
seen  and  unseen,  a  Cosmos,  not  a  Chaos.2 

Thus  far  the  adoring  Theologian  has  glorified 
and  expounded  the  Son  of  God  in  His  relation 
to  Creation,  to  Nature,  to  the  Universe. 
Have  we  listened  to  him  with  a  full  appre- 
hension of  the  grandeur  and  significance  of 
the  utterance  ?     And  have  we  appreciated   its 

1  Bishop  Lightfoot. 

2  Bishop  Lightfoot.  ' '  The  declaration  ...  is  in  fact  tan- 
tamount to  '  in  Him  they  live,  and  move,  and  have  their 
being"'  (Bishop  Ellicott). 


NEW    TESTAMENT    CHRISTOLOGY  79 


wonder,  as  we  remember  of  Whom  he  speaks 
— the  Being  who  so  recently  had  lived  in  a 
Galilean  town,  and  suffered  a  violent  death  (as 
we  are  reminded  a  few  verses  below)  outside 
the  walls  of  Jerusalem  ?  This  is  an  aspect  of 
New  Testament  Christology  always  surprising 
and  impressive.  The  Apostles  never  for  a 
moment  forget  the  historical  life  and  death  of 
their  Master ;  they  say  so  much  about  it  that 
from  their  Epistles,  and  their  discourses  in  the 
Acts,  we  can  reconstruct  a  tolerable  outline  of 
the  story  of  the  Gospels.  How  could  it  be 
otherwise,  when  those  "  days  of  the  Son  of 
Man "  were  well  within  the  adult  experience 
of  people  who  were  only  elderly  when  this 
Epistle  was  written  ?  Yet  in  the  same  breath, 
and  without  the  slightest  apparent  strain  or 
effort,  they  speak  of  Him,  they  deal  with  Him, 
as  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  nay,  in  this 
passage,  as  the  infinite  Cause  and  adequate  End 
of  all  finite  existence.  And  this  transcendent 
view  of  the  Person  whose  biography  in  Palestine 
yet  lies  so  clear,  and  so  near,  to  their  eyes,  is 
no  excrescence  of  their  thought,  or  intrusion 
into  it ;  it  conditions  their  whole  character,  it 


80  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

animates,  governs,  sanctifies,  glorifies  their 
being,  while  it  leaves  it  perfectly  sane  and 
sober  in  the  midst  of  human  life. 

There  is  no  real  accounting  for  such  a  creed, 
so  held,  and  so  lived,  except  on  the  one  theory 
that  it  was  the  expression  of  a  fact,  the  supreme 
fact  of  all,  that  "  the  Son,  which  is  the  Word  of 
the  Father,  begotten  from  everlasting  of  the 
Father,  very  and  Eternal  God,"  "  for  us  men 
and  for  our  salvation  came  down  from  heaven, 
and  was  incarnate,  and  was  made  Man,  and 
suffered  for  us,  and  rose  again." l  Blessed  be 
His  Name,  to  which  every  knee  shall   bow. 

In  passing,  let  us  remember  the  pregnant 
import  of  this  passage,  in  which  the  Son  is 
revealed  to  us2  as  Cause,  Head,  and  Goal 
of  the  created  Universe.  How  much  it  has 
to  say  to  us !  For  one  thing,  it  binds  both 
"  worlds,"  the  seen  and  unseen,  the  material 
and  spiritual,  into  one,  under  one  Head. 
And  this  is  a  precious  gain  when  our  hearts 
fail  us  on  the   border-line   between    the    two. 

1  Art.  ii.  of  the  English  Church,  and  the  "  Nicene"  Creed. 

2  To  a  degree    unexampled   even   in   St   Paul's    Epistles. 
John  i.  and  Heb.  i.  are  the  only  adequate  parallels. 


CHRIST    SANCTIFIES    NATURE  8 1 


For  another  thing,   it   sanctifies    "Nature"    to 
us,    and  makes  its  immeasurable  heights  and 
depths  at  once  safe  and  radiant  with  the  Name 
of  Jesus  Christ.     It  connects  the  remotest  Eeon 
of  the  past  with  Him.     It  connects  the  remotest 
star  detected  by  the  photographic  plate  with 
Him.     It  bids  us,  when  we  feel  as  if  lost  in 
the  enormity  of  space  and  time,  fall  back  upon 
the   Centre    of    both — for   that   centre    is    our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  died  for  us.     In  Him 
they    hold    together.       He    knows    all    about 
them  ;  the   mystery  of  space,   the  mystery  of 
time,  great   to  us,   are   no   mysteries   to  Him. 
Looking  on   Him,  and  then   on  the  beautiful 
but  awful  sky  of  stars,    we   can   say  with   the 
poet,1 

"Spirit,  nearing  yon  dark  portal  at  the  limit  of  thy  human 

state, 
Fear  not  thou  the  hidden  purpose  of  that  Power  which 

alone  is  great, 
Nor  the  myriad  world,  His  shadow,  nor  the  silent  Opener 

of  the  Gate." 

With    another,-    whose    harp    rung    still    truer 

1  Tennyson,  God  and  the  Universe. 
■  Cowper,  The  Winter  Walk  at  Noon. 

6 


82  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

to  the  eternal  things,  we  can  rejoice  to  think 
that 


"All  things  are  under  One.     One  Spirit,  His 
Who  wore  the  platted  thorns  with  bleeding  brows, 
Rules  universal  Nature." 


With  His  Name  the  traveller  can  rejoice  in 
the  glories  of  mountain,  forest,  and  flood, 
worshipping  not  Nature  but  Christ  its  Cause 
and  End ;  Artificer  of  the  landscape,  while 
He  is  Saviour  of  the  soul.  With  that  same 
dear  Name  the  explorer  of  physical  secrets 
can  consecrate  his  laboratory,  remembering 
that  Christ  is  the  ultimate  Law  of  compound 
and  cohesion,  while  He  is  the  Saviour  of  the 
soul.  "  The  Lord  shall  rejoice  in  His  works  "  ; 
and  man  may  indeed  do  so  likewise,  the  more, 
not  the  less,  because,  if  he  is  regenerate  and 
believing  man,  his  ultimate  and  spiritual  "joy 
is  in  the  Lord"  (Ps.  civ.  31,  34). 

But  the  Apostle  has  by  no  means  done  with 
his  blessed  theme.  He  has  seen  Christ 
supreme  in  Nature.  Now  the  same  Christ 
appears  as  the  Fountain-depth  out  of  which 
comes  the  life  eternal  in  the  sphere  of  Grace. 


I 

CHRIST   AND    THE    CHURCH  83 

Ver.  iS.  And  He,  He  again,  with  the  same  solemn 
emphasis  (clvtos),  is,  is  again,  with  the  same  sug- 
gestion of  an  eternal  fact,  the  Head  of  the  Body ; 
His  Body,  conditioned  as  such  by  relation  to  His 
Headship  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  Church,  "  the  blessed 
company  of  all  faithful  people,"  the  Congregation 
whom  grace  has  drawn  into  living  contact  with 
Him ' ;  He  is  the  Head,  as  He  is  supremely 
qualified  to  be,  seeing  He  is  (09  £cttlv),  in  His 
essential  Character,  Origin  (apx>l\  Life-source,  First- 
born from  among  the  dead,  even  as  He  is  eternally 
"Firstborn"  (ver.  15)  in  His  relation  to  the  Uni- 
verse. I  say,  "  from  the  dead,"  for,  wonderful 
to  say,  He,  this  Lord  of  Life,  has  passed  actually 
through  death ;  in  order  to  become  Head  of  His 
Church  He  needed  not  only  to  be  born  but  to  die, 
and  to  take  His  life  again,  the  same  yet  other,  an 
"  indissoluble  life " ;  that  He  might  become  in  all 
things,   in    grace   as    in    nature,   in    salvation    as   in 

1  "As  presented  here,  the  idea  [of  the  Church]  rises  above 
the  level  of  '  visibility ' ;  it  transcends  human  registration  and 
external  organization,  and  has  to  do  supremely  with  direct 
spiritual  relations  between  the  Lord  and  the  believing  Com- 
pany. .  .  .  All  other  meanings  of  the  word  Church  are  derived 
and  modified  by  this,  but  this  must  not  be  modified  by  them. 
See  Hooker,  Eccl.  Polity,  iii.  1  "  (Note  in  the  Cambridge 
Bible  for  Schools,  etc.). — The  late  Rev.  E.  A.  Litton's  treatise 
on  The  Church  is  highly  instructive  on  many  aspects  of  the 
subject. 


84  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

creation,  even  He  (avros),  the  holder  of  the  Primacy 
(irpwreiHov)  ;  from  every  point  of  view  PRE-EMINENT. 

"  That    in   all    things    He    might    have    the 
pre-eminence."     "And  He  must  have  it;  and 
He  will  have  it;  and  He  shall  have  it!"     The 
words  were  uttered   by  the   Rev.   C.   Simeon, 
in   his    pulpit   at   Cambridge,    in    his    old    age, 
about  the  year  1835.     The  scene  was  reported 
to  me  from  memory  in  1868  by  the  late  Dean 
Howson,  of  Chester ;    he  was  in    the  'church, 
and   heard    the    impassioned    words,    and    saw 
the  form    of  the    aged    preacher   actually  rise 
in  height  as  the  soul  erected  the  body  to  bear 
witness  to  the  Redeemer's  glory.     The  effect 
was  strong  and  thrilling.     But  the  words  and 
action    were  after  all  only  the  just   utterance 
of  a  faithful  servant  consenting  from  his  heart 
to    the  fact  of  his  Lord's   glory,    and    of  his 
Father's    purpose   for   the    Son   of   His    love. 
So  let  our  hearts  take  them  up  to-day.     For 
the    Universe,  for    the    Church,  Christ  is  and 
must  be  "pre-eminently"  the  First,  the  Head. 
And  therefore  this  He  must  be,  He  will  be, 
He   shall    be,  not   only  to  the  world  and  the 


THE    HEADSHIP  85 


Church  but  to   me  the  creature  of   His    will, 
the  believer  in  His  promise. 

"The    Head   of  the   Body."     This    is    His 
"pre-eminence"  with  relation   to   His  people. 
In  that  word    Head  much  lies   involved.       It 
betokens    of    course    primacy     of    authority ; 
the  right  of  supreme  direction.      Over  "His 
Body  "  the  Son  of  God,  Incarnate,  Sacrificed, 
Glorified,    absolutely   presides ;    and    so    over 
every    limb    of  His   body ;    and    so   over   my 
reader,     and    over    me.       In    everything,    at 
every  moment,  I  am  under  my  Head,  Christ 
(1   Cor.  xi.  3).      He  is  my  Sovereign,  and   I 
His  vassal,   His  bondservant,   His  implement, 
to     the     uttermost.      The     more     entirely     I 
recognize   this,    and   the   more   I    love    it,   the 
greater  the  freedom  and  the  less  the  friction 
of   my    life.      But    along   with    all    this,    the 
word  "Head"  tells   me   that    He    is   my  life 
as    well    as    my   law ;    my   secret    of  energy, 
my  power  to  do   His  will.     He  lives  in   me  ; 
He    carries    out    His    glorious    life,    in    true 
measure,    through    me.      And     in    that     fact 
there  lies  an  inexhaustible  secret  of  rest  and 
strength   for  the  "  limb  "  as  it  yields  itself  to 


86  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

the  orders  of  its  Head.     And  as  for  the  limb, 
so  for  the  whole  organism  : 

"To  know,  to  do  the  Head's  commands, 
For  this  the  Body  lives  and  grows; 
All  speed  of  feet,  all  skill  of  hands, 

Is  for  Him  spent  and  from  Him  flows T 

It  is  to  the  Epistles  to  Colossse  and  Ephesus 
that  we  owe  the  whole  express  revelation  of 
the  Headship  of  Christ.  Let  us  prize  these 
Epistles,  if  for  this  gift  alone. 

But  St  Paul  has  more  to  say.  Our  glorious 
Head  is  to  be  set  before  us  further  as  He  is 
constituted  for  His  wonderful  office  in  the 
eternal  purpose. 

Ver.  19.  For  in  Him,  this  Son  of  His  love,  He,  the 
Father,1  was  pleased,  in  the  eternal,  timeless,  "good 

'  "Ort  Iv  ai)Tu>  ijvSuKrjae  irav  ru  7rX^pa>/ia  KaToinTjaat.  Gram- 
matically, we  may. explain  this  in  three  ways;  (a)  "For  in 
Him  all  the  Plenitude  was  pleased  to  dwell";  (o)  "For  He 
(Christ)  was  pleased  that  all  the  Plenitude  should  dwell  in 
Him  " ;  {c)  "  For  He  (the  Father)  was  pleased,  etc.,"  as  above. 
On  the  whole  the  last  seems  preferable,  as  the  next  verses 
go  on,  in  the  same  construction,  to  speak  of  the  same  Agent 
in  a  way  which  manifestly  points  to  the  Father.  So  A.V., 
R.V.,  and  all  the  older  English  versions,  the  Rhemish 
excepted. 


THE    PLENITUDE   AND    THE    CROSS  87 

pleasure"  which  drew  the  plan  of  our  redemption, 
that  all  the  Plenitude,  the  Plenitude  of  the  God- 
head (ii.  9),  "the  totality  of  the  divine  Powers 
and  Attributes,"1  should  take  up  its  lasting  abode 
(KaroiKrja-at,  aorist) ;  beginning  that  Residence,  from 
the  point  of  view  of  our  salvation?  when  He  came 
Ver.  20.  to  Incarnation  and  Atonement.  To  proceed 
(ieeU) ;  the  Father  was  pleased,  by  means  of  Him,  the 
Son,  to  reconcile,  to  provide  amnesty  and  welcome 
for,  all  things  unto  Him,  the  Father,  making  peace, 
between  Himself  and  His  fallen  creatures,  by  means 
of  the  blood  of  His  Cross,  the  Cross  of  the  Son,  where 
the  Son  was  "  made  a  curse  for  us,  to  buy  us  out 
from  under  the  curse  of  the  law"  (Gal.  iii.  13),  as 
"the  Propitiation  for  our  sins"  (1  John  ii.  2);  by 
means  of  that  sacred  blood  which  signifies  and 
embodies  His  vicarious  death,  with  its  immeasurable 


1  Bishop  Lightfoot.  See  his  Essay  {Colossians ,  pp.  323, 
etc.,  ed.  i.)  on  the  meaning  of  Ti\i]p<ap.a,  of  which  the  true  idea 
is  "the  filled  condition  of  a  thing,"  and  so,  a  realized  ideal. 
The  word  was  technical  in  the  Jewish  schools,  and  connected 
with  the  eternally  realized  Ideal  of  Godhead. 

2  From  the  point  of  view  of  the  Eternal  Sonship  the  nXt'ipcopa 
is  eternally  in  the  Son;  it  does  not  "take  up"  its  abode  in 
Him  as  if  it  had  to  begin.  But  that  surely  is  not  in  view 
here.  Practically,  the  meaning  is  that  He,  in  the  great  crisis 
of  Redemption,  came  to  be  "God  manifest  in  fleshy  God 
Incarnate. 


COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 


merits.  I  say,  "all  things,"1  whether  the  things  upon 
the  earth,  or  the  things  in  the  heavens,  that  is  to 
say,  the  human  and  the  angelic  worlds  alike  ;  the 
human  world  in  the  sense  so  fully  understood  in 
the  Gospel  of  our  salvation  from  guilt  and  sin,  the 
angelic  world  in  a  sense  known  as  yet  only  to  the 
Lord.  But  it  is  assuredly  connected  with  the 
mysterious  fact  that  it  also  was  once  invaded  by 
sin  and  rebellion,  and  that  the  heavenly  temple 
itself  therefore  somehow  needed  a  cleansing  effect  to 
fall  upon  it  from  the  Cross. 

Not  without  significance,  surely,  there  is  no 
mention  here  of  "  the  things  under  the  earth," 
the  phrase  of  Phil.  ii.  n.  The  world  of  loss 
is  indeed  in  some  undiscovered  sense  to 
"  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord  "  ;  and  that 
is  an  assurance  which  has  in  it,  if  we  may  say 
so,  an  awful  peace.  But  it  is  not  the  same 
thing  as  the  purpose  and  promise  of"  reconcilia- 
tion." Let  us  not  read  into  this  passage  what 
is  not  here,  and  is  not  anywhere  in  Scripture, 
an   absolute    universalism,    a    "  larger    hope " 


1  The  words  BC  avmv  before  ciVe  to.  «ri  ttjs  yj}r,  in  the  Texhis 
Recefitus,  should  be  omitted.  They  may  have  been  a  tran- 
scriber's insertion  to  aid  the  reader  in  tracing  the  connexion. 


BEHOLD    THE    SON    OF    GOD  89 

which  is  ultimately  to  neutralize  the  most 
formidable  warnings.  Let  us  be  sure  that 
God  will  be  for  ever  and  everywhere  Himself 
in  His  whole  character;  that  He  will  never  and 
nowhere  be  inequitable  and  unmerciful.  But 
let  us  pray  for  a  holy  fear,  deep  and  awful  ;  let 
us  "  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come." 

Once  more  the  Apostle's  great  flight  of 
worshipping  thought  pauses,  not  to  alight  but 
as  it  were  to  hover  while  it  prepares  for  a  new 
movement.  As  it  stays,  let  us  rest  awhile, 
in  wonder  and  in  faith.  Let  us  take  another 
long  look  upwards  at  this  blessed  Son  of  the 
Father's  love,  Cause  and  Corner-stone  of 
the  Universe,  visible  and  invisible,  Head  of  the 
Church,  giving  law  to  His  Body,  and  giving 
it  also  a  law-fulfilling  power.  Behold  Him  ; 
He  is  Tabernacle  for  ever  of  the  eternal 
Plenitude,  Bearer  in  His  Incarnation  of  God- 
head itself,  and  therefore  infinite  Fountain  for 
us  of  every  resource  which  we  need  for  life  and 
holiness.  And  then  let  us  make  haste  again 
to  the  foot  of  the  Cross.  Let  us  see  this  most 
mysterious  Being  nailed  there  with  nails,  and 


90  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

crowned  with  thorns,  and  torn  by  the  Roman 
lance ;  a  dying,  agonizing  human  frame  yield- 
ing up  a  disembodied  human  spirit.  And  let 
us  measure  by  such  a  Death,  demanded,  exacted, 
endured,  accomplished,  the  immensity  of  our 
need  as  sinners,  and  the  immensity  also  of 
the  reconciliation  which  is  now  for  us — not 
to  make,  but  to  take.     To  Him  be  glory. 


REDEMPTION  APPLIED:    THE    CASE    OF 

THE    COLOSSIANS:    THE    APOSTLE'S 

JOY  AND    AIM 


9> 


The  grace  that  full  salvation  brings 

On  me,  e'en  me,  has  shin'd  ; 
The  hope  to  which  my  spirit  clings 

In  Thee  alone  I  find.  r 

I  look  for  Thee,  for  Thee  I  long, 

And  Thy  appearing  bright, 
When  I  shall  join  the  heav'nly  throng 

And  shine  in  cloudless  light. 

Henry  Moule,  1S62. 


92 


CHAPTER  V 

REDEMPTION    APPLIED  :    THE   CASE    OF  THE  COLOS- 
SIANS  :    THE   APOSTLE'S    JOY    AND    AIM 

COLOSSIANS   i.    21-29 

WE  all  know  the  distinction  in  some  fields 
of  science  between  the  "pure"  and 
the  "  applied."  Under  the  first  is  classed,  for 
example,  the  study  of  figure  and  number  in 
the  abstract.  Under  the  second,  we  think  ol 
the  ways  in  which  the  principles  so  ascertained 
are  used,  for  example  in  the  construction  of 
a  bridge,  or  the  measurement  of  a  planet. 
In  a  certain  sense  we  may  carry  the  same 
distinction  into  religious  thought.  We  may 
speak,  with  obvious  reserves,  of  "  pure "  and 
'  applied  "  theology ;  the  study  of  the  facts 
of  God  and  salvation  as  they  are  presented 
to  us  in  themselves,  and  then  the  study  of 
their  action  and  effects   as   they  are    brought 

93 


94  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

home  with  power  to  our  human  wills  and 
lives. 

Great  and  deep  is  the  joy  in  every  case  of 
really  "  applied  theology."  It  means  the  actual 
bringing  together  of  God  and  man,  the  union 
of  the  sinner  with  his  Saviour,  present  grace 
and  future  glory  in  the  concrete  instance  of  a 
being  made  "  to  glorify  God  and  to  enjoy 
Him  fully  for  ever." 

The  great  work  of  the  minister  of  God's 
Word  is  to  be  the  living  and  loving  Jeacher 
of  "  applied  theology."  Let  him  spend  his 
best  and  most  prayerful  pains  upon  learning 
the  vital  system  "  pure."  Then  let  his  life- 
work  be  to  handle  what  he  knows,  in  the 
presence  and  power  of  his  Lord,  so  that  it 
shall  tell  on  "  them  that  hear  him  "  in  its  living 
"  application." 

The  Apostle  comes  now  to  the  theology 
of  the  glory  and  work  of  Christ — "  applied  " 
to  the  Colossians.  Let  us  listen  ;  for  they 
were  after  all  "  our  ensamples,"  tvttol  rjfxwv 
(i  Cor.  x.  6),  "types  of  us."  In  their  fallen 
humanity  we  see  ours ;  and  their  redemption 
shews  us  ours  also. 


A    POINT    OF    TRANSITION  95 

As  regards  the  grammar  of  the  following 
passage,  it  will  be  necessary  in  our  paraphrase 
to  do  it  a  slight  violence.  Grammatically, 
ver.  21  follows  close  upon  20  and  19;  we 
must  render,  in  strictness,  somewhat  thus : 
"The  Father  was  pleased  ...  to  reconcile 
to  Himself  all  things  ...  on  earth  and  in 
heaven,  and  (now  particularly)  you,  who  were 
alienated,"  etc.  {amoKaTaWd^ai  iravra  .  .  .  kcu 
v/xas).  Nevertheless  it  is  legitimate  to  find 
here  a  pause  of  thought,  although  there  is 
no  break  of  construction.  It  seems  clear  that 
just  at  this  point  we  do  really  pass  from  the 
general  to  the  particular,  with  a  view  to  the 
many  detailed  "  applications  "  of  the  rest  of 
the  Epistle.  I  shall  venture  accordingly  to 
treat  ver.  21  as  practically  a  new  departure, 
and  to  render  it  as  if  it  were  worded  somewhat 
thus :  kcu,  avrbs  rjvSoKTjcre  kcu  vfxa<;  aTTOKcvraWa^cu, 
tous  ttot€  ovtcls  a.TT7)WoTpio)iJiivov<5  \  "And  He 
was  pleased  to  reconcile  you  also,  who  were 
alienated  once." 

Ver.  21.     And  you,  you  among  these  "all  things  on 
earth,"   happy  recipients   in    personal   experience   of 


g6  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

this  great  mercy,  you   He  was  pleased  to  reconcile 
to  Himself,  in  His  gift  of  His  Son  for  you  and  in 
His  calling  you  into  fellowship  with  Him  by  faith  ; 
you,    who    once,    before    a    Saviour's    coming,    and 
before  your  coming  to  Him,  were  estranged,  alienated, 
broken    off    from    God    in    the    Fall,    and    enemies, 
personally    hostile    {e^dpovs:)    to    Him,    the    Eternal 
Holiness,  as  to  your  thought,  your  reasoning  powers 
(Biavoca),  which  approved  and  defended  evil ;  in  your 
(Tot?)  works,  your  evil  works,  the   path  "in"  which 
your  feet  wandered.      (But  now,  in  the  actual  state 
of  the  case,  in  divine  mercy — I    cannot  but  pause, 
and   throw   in   the   glorious   fact   by   the    way — you 
were   reconciled l  ;    peace    was    made    for    you    with 
Ver.  22.     God,    in    the    body    of  His    flesh,    Christ's 
flesh,  by  means  of  His  death a ;  "  in  "  the  blessed  body 
of    the    Incarnate    Lord    of    Calvary,   because    you 
were,  in  the  mercy  of  God,  taken  as  united  to  that 
Body,   as    if   already   mystically   "  its   limbs " ;    and 
"by  means  of  His  death"  because  not  Incarnation 
only   but    Propitiation    was    the    awful    requisite    to 
your   pardon.)      Such   is   my  glad  passing   thought 
about  your  actual  reconciliation.     Now  let  me  return 
to    the    purpose    and    the    issue    of    the    Father's 

1  Read,  probably,  a-noKarrpCKayrfe.  The  sentence  from  vvvi 
to  Oavarov  is  thus  a  parenthesis.  On  the  meaning  of  "recon- 
cile "  see  a  note  near  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

*  Read,  probably,  tov  davdrov  avrov. 


SAFETY    AND    RELIANCE  97 

"  pleasure  "  in  it :  it  was,  to  present  you  to  Himself, 
"  in  the  day  when  He  maketh  up  His  jewels,"  holy, 
and  without  hlemish,  and  without  one  accusation 
against  you,  before  Himself ;  for  "  who  shall  lay 
anything  to  your  charge  ?  It  is  Christ  that  died  "  ; 
His  merits  secure  your  standing  before  the  Judge  ; 
"  such  are  you  in  the  sight  of  God  the  Father  as  is 
the  very  Son  of  God  Himself."1  But  that  prospect 
is  no  reason  for  a  faith  indolent,  unwatchful,  fatal- 
istic ;  "  to  your  safety  your  sedulity  is  required  "  2 ; 
from  your  side,  that  prospect  is  only  yours  if,  an 
Ver.  23.  emphatic  "  if "  (el/ye),  you  are  abiding  by 
your  (rjf)  faith,  holding  fast  to  that  great  secret, 
simplest  reliance  on  the  all-sufficient  Saviour,  and 
on  no  substitute  for  Him  ;  founded  as  on  the  Rock, 
and  steady  in  the  resolve  to  rest  there  for  ever ;  and 
not  yielding  to  movements  (fieTaicivovfievoi,  a  present 
participle,  indicating  a  chronic  liability  to  disturb- 
ance) away  from  the  hope,  (the  blessed  hope  of  the 
Lord's  Return  for  the  final  salvation  of  His  waiting 
and  faithful  ones,)  the  hope  of  the  Gospel  which  you 

1  Hooker,  Discourse  of  Justification,  ch.  vi.— I  take  St 
Paul  here  to  refer  to  the  "righteousness  of  justification" 
rather  than  to  the  perfected  personal  holiness  of  the  saints ; 
having  regard  to  Rom.  viii.  3$.  But  this  latter  thought,  the 
prospect  of  their  personal  perfection  as  "Christ  in  them"  is 
developed  in  the  day  of  glory,  lies  very  near  at  hand  here. 

2  Again  Hooker,  Sermon  of  the  Perpetuity  of  Faith  i7i 
the  Elect,  at  the  end  ;  a  noble  passage. 

7 


98  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

heard  when  you  were  first  evangelized ;  which  was 
proclaimed,  when  the  Lord's  fiat  for  it  went  out 
(Mark  xvi.  15),  in  all  the  creation  which  is  under 
heaven ;  among  all  our  fellow-creatures  without  one 
limit  of  land  or  of  tongue 1 ;  of  which  Gospel  I,  Paul, 
(individually  named  and  designated  to  it  by  my 
Master,  authentic  in  my  commission,  whoever  claims 
without  a  warrant  to  be  sent  by  Him,)  became,  was 
made,  a  minister,  a  working  servant  (Bid/covos),  when 
He  called  me  to  be  His. 

So  he  realizes  anew,  and  recites  to*  himself 
and  to  the  Colossians,  the  unique  greatness  of 
the  Gospel  of  the  everlasting  Son  of  the 
Father,  that  Gospel  which  had  so  blessed 
Colossal,  and  which  is  also  the  One  Gospel 
for  the  whole  human  world.  And  then 
he  reaffirms  his  own  high  privilege,  his  call 
to  be  its  authoritative  steward  and  herald. 
"  To  him,  less  than  the  least  of  all  the  saints, 
is  this  grace   given."     And    at    once   the  joy 

1  For  the  hyperbole  cp.  Acts  ii.  5  ;  of  the  nations  repre- 
sented at  Pentecost.  Here  however  the  reference  is  perhaps 
less  to  the  actual  than  so  to  speak  the  ideal  preaching  of  the 
Gospel — the  preaching  as  it  lay  planned  and  purposed  when 
the  Lord  commanded  it.  And  in  that  respect  the  phrase  "  in 
all  the  creation  under  heaven"  is  not  hyperbolical. 


APOSTOLIC  JOY   AND    LABOUR  99 

and    the   sufferings    of    apostolic    labour    rise 
upon  his  soul,  and  he  proceeds  : 

Ver.  24.  Now,1  at  this  very  hour,  in  this  full,  solemn 
view  of  Christ,  His  Gospel,  your  blessings  received 
through  it,  its  world-wide  scope,  and  my  great 
privilege  in  His  commission,  now  I  am  rejoicing  in 
these  (to4?  :  omit  /xov)  sufferings  on  your  behalf, 
sufferings  of  unjust  bonds  and  prison,  necessitated 
by  my  labour  and  witness  for  you,  as  for  all  my 
converts ;  and  I  realize  with  gladness  that  I  am 
filling  up,  as  required  {avr-\  with  an  endurance  cor- 
respondent to  the  Master's  and  the  work's  demand, 
what  is  lacking  of  the  afflictions,2  the  tribulation-toils, 
of  our  {rod)  Christ,  toils  begun  by  the  Head,  the 
supreme   "  Apostle   of  our   profession,"   and    left   to 

1  "Who  now";  A.V.     But  os  is  certainly  to  be  omitted. 

2  QXfyeis  :  not  Tradrjuara.  He  is  thinking  not  of  the  Lord's 
Passion  but  of  His  sacred  Life-work  as  Teacher,  Healer, 
Guide,  and  meanwhile  Endurer  of  "the  contradiction  of 
sinners."  Lightfoot  remarks  that  "  the  idea  of  expiation  or 
satisfaction  is  wholly  absent  from  this  passage." — In  the 
tribulations  of  His  Zz/fe-work  our  blessed  Lord,  "though 
indeed  pre-eminent,  was  not  unique.  He  only  '  began  to  do 
and  to  teach '(Acts  i.  1)  personally  what  through  His  mem- 
bers He  was  to  carry  on  to  the  end,  and  what  was  in  this 
respect  left  incomplete  when  He  quitted  earth.  Every  true 
toiler  and  sufferer  for  Him  and  His  flock  contributes  to  the 

'  filling-up '   of  that  incompleteness,  so  far  as  he  toils   and 
bears  in  Christ "  (Note  in  the  Cambridge  Bible). 


100  C0L0SSIAN    STUDIES 

be  completed  by  the  members  through  whom  He 
works  ;  thus  toiling  in  my  flesh,  in  the  willing  use 
and  exposure  of  my  human  faculties  and  energies, 
on  behalf  of  His  body,  which  is  the  Church,1  inestimably 
dear    to    me    for    the    sake    of    its    glorious    Head. 

Ver.  25.  Of  which  Church,  to  serve  its  holy  in- 
terests, I  (let  me  say  it  with  a  personal  emphasis, 
kyd),  affirming  my  commission)  became,  at  the  Lord's 
call,  a  minister  (Sta/cow?),  on  the  terms  of  (Kara  c.  ace), 
in  a  way  conditioned  by,  the  stewardship  of  our  (rov) 
God,  which  was  given  me  by  Him  with  reference  to 
you ;  to  fulfil  the  word  of  God ;  to  develope  His 
message  till  it  is  presented  in  its  fulness 2 ;  that  won- 

Ver.  26.  derful  message,  the  holy  Secret  (fivar-qpiov3) 
which  had  been  kept  hidden,  in  the  deep  plan  of 
God,  ever  since  the  ages  (cutuz/e?)  and  the  generations 
began ;  through  all  the  cycles  and  developements  of 
the  history  of  intelligent  creation,  till  the  appointed 
hour  ;  but  now  that  hour  has  come,  now  the  Secret 


1  See  above,  ver.  18. 

■  Cp.  Rom.  XV.  19:  wore  pe  .  .  .  irerrK-qpatKevcu  to  evayytXiov, 
"  So  that  I  have  fully  preached  the  Gospel "  (A.V.). 

3  The  word  in  N.  T.  always  denotes  a  truth  undiscoverable 
except  by  revelation,  whether  or  no  it  is,  when  discovered, 
difficult  or  not  to  be  understood. — The  word  is  borrowed  from 
the  ancient  systems  of  teaching  and  worship,  whose  rites  of 
initiation  were  special  and  secret,  and  lay  in  a  sense  apart 
from  and  behind  the  popular  religion. 


THE    HOPE    OF    GLORY  IOI 

has   been    manifested x   to  His    saints,    the    men    who 
have  heard,  believed,  and  yielded  themselves  to  be 
Ver.  27.     the  Lord's ;  to  whom  God  was  pleased  (for 
all  was  sovereign  mercy,  "  according  to  His  abundant 
mercy,"  "  not  according  to  our  works,"  past,  present, 
or  to  come)  to  make  known,  in  His  message,  by  His 
Spirit,  what  is  the  wealth  of  the  glory,  the  treasures 
involved  in  the  divine  greatness  and  wonder,  of  this 
Secret  in  the  Gentiles  ;   as  it  is  unfolded  not  only  in 
Jewish   but    in   once   pagan    hearts    and    lives,   and 
draws  them  all   into  one  Church  of  faith  and  love. 
And  what  is  that  Secret?     It  is  not  "it,"  but  "He"; 
it  is  Christ  in  you,  the  hope  of  the  coming  glory ;  it 
is    this    Son    of  the    Father's    love,  revealed   as   the 
Dweller   in   your    beings,  the   Lord   of  your  hearts, 
by   faith  ;    a    Presence   indissolubly   connected    with 
your  eternal  bliss,  which  will  be  but  the  full  result 
of  it.     Even  so  the  bud  is  "  the  hope  "  of  the  rose, 
the  clear  dawn  is  "  the  hope  "  of  the  summer  day. 

What  shall  we  say  over  this  long  and  not 
yet  finished  chain  of  truth,  and  joy,  and  most 

1  'E<pavepwdr] :  the  aorist  refers  to  the  historical  facts  of  the 
Incarnation  and  Work  of  Christ,  when  "the  grace  of  God 
which  bringeth  salvation  appeared  (ine<pdvr))  for  all  men " 
(Tit.  ii.  11).  This  is  better  expressed  in  English  by  the 
perfect,  as  an  event  comparatively  recent  and  in  its  effects 
present. 


102  C0L0SSIAN    STUDIES 

blissful  expectation  ?  The  heart  of  the  Apostle 
in  his  prison  is  indeed  "  enlarged."  It  is  as 
if  nothing  could  be  touched  by  him  but  it 
expands,  dilating  into  depths  and  heights  of 
grace  and  glory.  He  cannot  speak  of  the 
"reconciliation"  of  the  Colossians  but  he  is 
lifted  onward  to  the  hour  when  they  shall  be 
presented  without  fault  before  the  throne  of 
God.  He  cannot  speak  of  the  faith  of  the 
Gospel,  and  of  the  urgent  practical  importance 
of  their  holding  fast  (eVtjaeVere)  by  faith -as  their 
watchword,  without  going  out  and  up  to  the 
fact  that  the  Gospel  of  grace  is  the  Lord's 
edict  for  the  whole  creation  under  heaven,  for 
every  human  soul  from  the  rising  to  the  setting 
sun.  He  cannot  speak  of  his  apostolic  labour 
but  his  heart  burns  with  the  thought  that  his 
toils  and  troubles  are  organically  one  with  his 
beloved  Lord's  own  ministry  of  word  and 
work  ;  that  he  is  so  profoundly  one  with  Christ 
that  his  apostleship  is  but  an  extension  of 
Him  ;  that  he  is  contributing  to  Christ's  total 
of  toil  by  laying  out  his  own  whole  resources, 
in  union  with  Him.  He  speaks  of  the  Word 
of  God,  the  message  of  salvation,  and  it  shines 


THE    INDWELLING    CHRIST  1 03 


before  him  as  the  Secret  which  lay  hidden  and 
hushed  so  long  in  the  eternal  Mind,  but  now 
has  burst  its  long  cloud,  and  pours  its  mani- 
fested sunshine  on  the  saints.  It  is  God's  own 
disclosure,  His  answer  to  His  own  problem, 
meeting  the  whole  need  of  man. 

And  now  he  cannot  speak  of  that  Secret  but 
at  once  he  unfolds  it  and  translates  it  into 
nothing  less  than  the  personal  Indwelling 
Christ.  What  is  it?  It  is  not  an  idea,  a 
principle,  a  watchword.  It  is  indeed  the  source 
and  reason  of  all  noble  and  powerful  ideas, 
principles,  and  watchwords  of  salvation.  But 
in  itself,  "it  is  He";  it  is  Jesus  Christ.  This 
Son  of  the  Father's  love,  this  Image  of  the 
invisible  God,  this  Firstborn  over  all  creation, 
and  Head  of  the  whole  living  Church — is 
Himself  the  "Secret."  And  this  He  is  par- 
ticularly in  that  wonderful  aspect  of  Himself, 
His  indwelling  Presence. 

Nothing  less  than  this  is  His  relation  to  His 
"  saints."  He  makes  reconciliation  for  them. 
He  presides  over  them.  He  is  their  unifying 
Centre.  But  within  all  these  operations,  the 
innermost    fact  is   this — He    is    in    them.      By 


104  C0L0SSIAN    STUDIES 

His  Spirit,  who  unites  the  member  and  the 
Head,  so  that  "he  who  is  joined  to  the 
Lord  is  one  spirit"  (i  Cor.  vi.  17),  He  is 
so  present  to  all  His  own  that  nothing  less 
than  this  word  "  in  "  satisfies  the  revealed 
thought. 

In  many  a  beautiful  phrase  He  is  presented 
to  us  in  His  wonderful  proximity.  "  Come 
unto  Me  "  ;  "  The  Lord  is  near""  ;  "  I  am  with 
you  all  the  days  "  ;  "  The  Lord  stood  with  me 
and  strengthened  me"  ;  "  To  depart  apd  to  be 
with  Christ  "  ;  "  We  shall  ever  be  with  the 
Lord";  "Together  with  Him."  But  these 
bright  circles  surround  this  yet  more  radiant 
centre;  "Christ  in  you."  So  it  is  in  that 
great  Ephesian  passage  (iii.  14-17)  which  is 
unmistakably  the  developement  of  this  briefer 
word  :  "  I  bow  my  knees  unto  the  Father  .  .  . 
that  you  may  be  strengthened  with  might  by 
His  Spirit,  deep  in  (ets  toV)  the  inner  man — 
that  Christ  may  take  up  His  abode  in  your 
hearts,  by  faith."  So  it  is  in  the  Lord's  own 
wonderful  promise  (Rev.  iii.  20)  to  the  soul 
which  has  wandered  but  now  listens  and 
''looks   again"    in    repentance   and   trust:    "I 


THE    INDWELLING    CHRIST  105 

will  come   in  to  him,   and  will  sup  with  him, 
and  he  with  Me." 

Let  us  deal  with  this  revealed  blessing  as 
with  a  fact  of  the  covenant  of  God.  It  is  not 
a  thing  for  the  arduous  ambition  of  a  few, 
who  by  difficult  and  heroic  paths  are  to  climb 
up  to  it.  The  indwelling  of  Christ  in  the 
Christian  is  presented  to  us  as  a  normal,  nay 
as  a  necessary,  fact  of  all  living  Christianity  ; 
11  Know  ye  not  that  Jesus  Christ  is  in  you, 
unless  you  are  somehow  (tl)  counterfeits 
(ol§6kl[jloi)  ? "  (2  Cor.  xiii.  5).  If  we  are  in 
simplicity  at  His  feet,  He,  thus  indwelling  by 
the  Spirit,  is  in  our  being.  And  the  indwelling 
"  in  the  heart"  what  is  it  but  this  fact  realized 
by  the  faith  which  sees  and  claims  it  ?  It  is 
not  an  attainment;  it  is  a  recognition.  "  Come, 
and  let  us  walk  in  the  light  of  the  Lord." 
Come,  and  let  the  Lord,  humbly  welcomed 
without  misgiving,  "  dwell  in  us,  and  walk  in 
us,"  every  hour  of  life. 

"  The  hope  of  glory."  Such  is  the  Apostle's 
description  of  the  Indwelling,  or  rather  of  the 
Indweller,  considered  in  one  of  the  profound 
effects  of  His  presence.     What  is  "the  reason 


106  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

of  the  hope  that  is  in  us"  (i  Pet.  iii.  15)?  It 
is  the  Christ  that  is  in  us.  He,  recollected 
(and  so,  in  measure,  realized)  as  joined  in  the 
eternal  life  to  our  inmost  being,  He,  welcomed 
not  only  into  "  us  "  in  general  but  into  our 
sanctuary,  "the  heart,"  is  ipso  facto  the  hope  of 
glory  ;  that  glory  which  means  our  everlasting 
fruition  of  God  in  the  heavenly  state.  Our  ex- 
pectation of  that  indescribable  future  is  not  as 
if  we  only  "saw  it  afar  off"  and  "embraced 
it,"  with  wistful  longings,  across  an  intervening 
void.  We  are  in  vital  contact  with  it  already. 
"The  hope  of  it"  is  He  who  is  the  Lord  of 
it.  He  is  "  the  Lamb  who  is  the  lamp  "  of 
the  eternal  Jerusalem.  And  He  is  in  us  at 
this  hour !  To  repeat  our  metaphors  above  ; 
He  is  already  in  us  as  the  bud  of  Himself 
the  flower,  the  dawn  of  Himself  the  day. 


"Blessed  are  the  sons  of  God; 
They  are  bought  with  Christ's  own  blood  ; 
One  with  God,  with  Jesus  one, 
Glory  is  in  them  begun.'' 


"  Because  I  live" — and  live  in  you — "ye  shall 
live  also,"  yes,  with  eternal  life. 


APOSTOLIC    LABOUR    FOR    INDIVIDUALS         IO7 

But  a  few  verses  yet  claim  attention  before 
this  section  of  our  studies  closes.  He  has 
named  the  Lord  Christ ;  he  pursues  that 
Theme  a  step  further  still : 

Ver.  28.  Whom,  as  His  own  Gospel,  we,  emphatically 
we  (fiiiets),  whatever  be  the  message  of  other  teachers, 
proclaim ;  carrying  Him  as  our  Tidings  where  we 
go ;  telling  of  Him  as  our  Secret,  alike  for  pardon 
and  for  holiness,  for  life  and  for  law  ;  admonishing 
every  man,  every  individual,  of  his  need  of  Christ 
and  his  allegiance  to  Christ,  and  instructing  every 
man  in  all  wisdom,  in  all  applications  of  that  holy 
wisdom  which  means  the  right  living  of  a  life  of 
faith  and  love  ;  (for  the  will  of  God  is  that  every 
disciple  should  learn  every  duty  of  consistent  holi- 
ness ;)  in  order  that  we  may  present  to  the  Lord, 
when  He  returns  and  His  servants  come  to  meet 
Him,  "bringing  their  sheaves  with  them,"  every  man, 
thus  taught  how  to  use  his  wealth  of  grace,  perfect, 
mature,  developed,  no  longer  the  babe  and  beginner 1 
but  the  adult,  in  Christ,2  in  his  union  with  his  Head, 
who  is  to  every  "  limb "  the  true  cause  and  law  of 


1  TeXaop.  Lightfoot  thinks  that  this  is  a  term  borrowed 
from  the  "mysteries."  But  it  seems  sufficient  and  appro- 
priate to  render  it  as  above. 

2  Omit  'Itjo-ov. 


108  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

its  full  developement.  Such  is  our  aim ;  nothing 
less  than  the  entire  personal  holiness,  in  union  and 
communion  with  Christ,  of  every  human  being  whom 
we  have  led  to  Him.  It  is  the  will  of  God  that  it 
should  be  so.  And  the  whole  power  of  His  Son 
is  with  and  in  His  disciples,  that  it  may  be  so. 
Therefore  for  me  (I  speak  for  myself)  that  goal, 
impossible  for  man,  is  possible,  attainable,  infinitely 
Ver.  29.  to  be  desired  :  towards  which  end  I  am 
actually  (icaC)  toiling  to  my  uttermost  {kottlw),  like 
the  racer  towards  his  point  of  victory,  striving,  like 
him  as  he  contends  with  fatigue  and  faintness  in 
the  arena,  according  to,  with  a  hope  and  a  renewal 
of  strength  conditioned  by,  His,  my  Master's,  active 
force  (ivipyeiav) ;  that  force  which  is  acting  in  me  in 
power.  For  indeed  in  me,  by  His  mercy,  the  Christ 
whom  I  preach  is  present,  not  as  hope  of  glory 
only  but  as  power  for  service.  "  By  Him  I  move, 
and  in  Him  live."  And  the  toil,  however  it  may 
exhaust  the  bodily  nature,  is  in  Him  lifted  above 
exhaustion  for  the  spirit.  "  I  run,  and  am  not 
weary,  I  walk,  and  do  not  faint,"  because  of  Him. 

The  messages  of  these  few  lines  are  weighty. 

i.  Let  us  note  first,  what  has  already  so 
often  come  up  in  the  apostolic  teaching,  the 
identification  of  the  Gospel  with  its  Lord.     He 


CHRIST    IS    HIS    OWN    GOSPEL  109 

is  His  Gospel.  "Whom  we  preach"  is  the 
phrase,  when  St  Paul  is  about  to  say  how 
he  is  labouring  to  edify  his  converts.  His 
inexhaustible  longing  is  that  they  may  live  a 
full  Christian  life  ;  cautioned,  instructed,  grow- 
ing, mature.  He  has  much  to  say  to  them 
about  the  methods;  but  the  much  is  all  summed 
up  in  the  One — "  Whom  we  preach."  Christ 
in  His  Person,  in  His  reconciliation,  in  His 
indwelling  life,  in  His  coming  glory,  He  is  the 
secret  of  the  Christian  alike  for  the  beginnings 
and  for  the  last  developements  of  his  regenerate 
condition  and  its  activities. 

These  Colossian  disciples,  like  all  disciples 
everywhere  and  in  every  age,  "  began  fallen  "  ; 
"  began  life  with  the  face  away  from  God." 
They  were  "  alienated,"  "  personal  enemies  " 
of  the  Holy  One,  potentially  and  then  actually. 
They  were  what  he  describes  them  as  being 
in  the  expanded  parallel  passage  in  Ephesians 
(ch.  ii.  1-3,  11,  12)  ;  "dead  in  their  trespasses 
and  their  sins ;  by  nature  children  of  wrath  ; 
sundered  from  (x«»/ois)  Christ,  alienated  from 
the  commonwealth  of  the  (true)  Israel,  strangers 
to  the  covenants  of  the  promise  ;    feeling  no 


I  I O  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

hope  (eXmSa  fir)  exo^res),  and  without  God  in 
the  world.''  To  all  this  there  is  applied  the 
antidote  of  Jesus  Christ  ;  and  it  is  adequate. 
To  Him  they  were  led  by  grace  through  the 
Gospel.  In  Him  the  dead  found  life,  the 
condemned  found  reconciliation,  that  is  to  say, 
the  more  than  amnesty  of  the  injured  King, 
His  glad  while  righteous  welcome  of  them 
back,1  in  the  atoning,  dying,  Son.  In  Him 
the  alienated  found  a  wonderful  instatement. 
They    were    incorporated  indeed    into     "  the 

1  "  Reconciliation"  in  Scripture  is  a  word  which  habitually 
denotes  the  gracious  concessions  of  an  offended  personage, 
welcoming  the  offender  back.  The  offender  thus  "is  recon- 
ciled" in  respect  not  of  his  laying  aside  resentment  and 
consenting  to  obey,  but  in  respect  of  the  other  party  laying 
aside  his  resentment,  and  consenting  to  receive.  See  e.g 
i  Sam.  xxix.  4;  "Wherewith  should  he  (David)  reconcile 
himself  unto  his  (offended)  master  ?  Should  it  not  be  even 
with  the  heads  of  these  men  ? "  In  the  light  of  such  an 
example  of  usage  cp.  2  Cor.  v.  20,  "Be  ye  reconciled  to 
God";  i.e.  seek  and  secure,  in  the  atonement  (ver.  21)  of  His 
Son,  His  gracious  amnesty  and  welcome. — This  will  justify 
the  scriptural  meaning  of  the  apparently  opposite  phraseo- 
logy of  Art.  ii.,  on  the  Atonement ;  "That  He  might  recon- 
cile His  Father  to  us  "  ;  words  which  convey  the  same  thought, 
but  with  a  use  of  "  reconcile  "  such  as  we  are  more  accustomed 
to.  And  for  this  use  (and  the  scriptural  fitness  therefore  of 
the  phrase  in  the  Article)  cp.  Luke  xviii.  13,  "O  God,  be 
reconciled  (iXdad^Ti,  be  propitiated)  to  me  the  sinner." 


HE    IS    THE    SECRET    FOR    EVERYTHING        I  I  I 

commonwealth  of  Israel,"  for  they  were  incor- 
porated into  its  living  King !  In  Him  the 
hopeless,  the  beings  conscious  of  no  faintest 
approach  to  a  genuine  hope  beyond  the  tomb, 
(how  eloquent  is  the  witness  of  the  whole 
elegiac  literature  of  the  classics  to  this !)  found 
"  the  hope  of  glory  "  which  was  revealed  in 
their  risen  Saviour;  and  His  presence  in  their 
very  being  was  the  guarantee  that  it  was 
not  a  dream.  And  now  in  their  profound 
experience  of  moral  weakness  and  pollution 
this  same  Jesus  Christ  is,  according  to  St  Paul, 
the  answer  and  the  resource  still.  In  view 
of  the  question,  how  can  we  stand,  and  grow, 
and  be  adult  spiritual  men,  He  is  the  secret. 
He  must  stand  in  them,  and  they  will  stand. 
He  must  grow  in  them,  and  they  will  grow, 
growing  up,  on  their  side,  "into  Him" 
(Eph.  iv.  15).  He  must  abide  in  them,  and 
they  in  Him,  and  they  shall  ripen  into  the 
holy  adultness  of  purity,  and  truthfulness,  and 
love. 

"  Our  sacred  books  in  the  East  contain 
many  noble  precepts.  Your  sacred  Book 
contains  not  only  the  precepts,  but  the  secret 


I  1  2  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

how  to  do  them."  So  said  a  young  Japanese 
student  to  me  at  Cambridge,  many  years  ago, 
on  the  eve  of  a  wonderful  discovery  of  the 
glory  of  Christ.  It  is  even  thus.  The  "  secret 
how  to  do  "  is  in  our  sacred  Book  ;  and  it  is — 
"  Christ  in  you  ;  whom  we  preach." 

ii.  Then  let  us  not  fail  to  note  the  Apostle's 
restless     longing     for     just     this ;     that    the 
"  precepts "     should,     in    the    power    of    this 
"  secret,"    be    "  done."       He    has    won    these 
Colossian  souls  to  faith ;  he  sees  them  lodged 
in  Christ,  redeemed,  reconciled,  filled  with  the 
hope   of  glory.      But  therefore  he  is  insatiably 
desirous  that  they  should  be  taught  (SiSacr/covres) 
the   depth   and    range    of   Christian    holiness, 
and  should   be  cautioned  (vovOtTovvres)  against 
every  inconsistency,  and  should  so  grow  that 
when  the   Lord  comes  they  may  be  presented 
(napaaTija-cofjiev)    before    Him    not    as    stunted 
products   of    redemption,    but   as   the    mature 
and  developed    (reXeioi/)   sons   of  God.       And 
this  is  his  longing  not  for  a  few,  for  an  inner 
circle,     for    such    as    might    elect    to    follow 
11  counsels  of  perfection  "  while  the  rest  might 
be   allowed    to   walk    contentedly   on   a  lower 


EVERY    MAN  "  I  I  3 


level.  He  is  spending  his  soul  upon  the  effort 
to  get  this  holiness  developed  in  "  every  man," 
"  every  man,"  "  every  man  "  ;  the  words  recur 
again  and  again  with  urgent  emphasis.  It 
may  be,  as  Lightfoot  thinks,  that  he  is  here 
contrasting  his  aim  with  that  of  the  Gnostic 
teacher,  who  avowedly  aimed  at  the  illumination 
(so  he  thought  it  to  be)  of  only  an  esoteric 
circle.  But  anywise  this  is  St  Paul's  urgent, 
we  may  almost  say  passionate,  aim — the  un- 
reserved and  instructed  obedience,  the  adult 
holiness,  of  every  individual,  man  and  woman 
{avdpoiiTov),  that  has  come  to  Christ.  In  this 
sense,  to  him,  there  is  no  esoteric  circle ;  or 
rather,  the  whole  circle  is  esoteric.  Must  it 
not  be  so,  when  the  feeblest  "member"  is 
"in  "  the  Head;  when  the  being  once  alienated, 
whoever  he  may  be,  now  has  "  Christ  in  him, 
the  hope  of  glory  "  ? 

iii.  Lastly,  the  Missionary's  toil  for  this 
edification  (not  merely  evangelization)  of  the 
Colossians  is  exhausting ;  yet  he  is  not 
exhausted.  He  "toils"  (kottloj),  not  only 
works ;  yet  he  does  not  faint.  And  why  ? 
Because  the  secret  he  proclaims  for  others  is 


114  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

his  own.  Christ  is  in  him,  working  in  him, 
working  with  power.  To  Christ  he  yields 
himself  as  instrument,  as  vehicle  ;  and  so 
nothing  less  than  Christ's  energy  is  what  he 
has  to  spend  upon  the  blessed  toil. 


THE    SECRET    OF   GOD,   AND    ITS   POWER 


"5 


The  Sun  of  Righteousness  on  me 

Hath  rose,  with  healing  in  His  wings; 

Wither'd  my  nature's  strength,  from  Thee 
My  soul  its  life  and  succour  brings;  , 

My  help  is  all  laid  up  above, 

Thy  nature  and  Thy  name  is  Love. 

C.  Wesley. 


116 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE    SECRET    OF    GOD,    AND    ITS    POWER 
Colossians  ii.  1-7 

STRIVING,  according  to  His  active 
force,  which  is  acting  within  me  in 
power."  Such  has  been  St  Paul's  last  word 
(i.  29)  about  his  life  and  labour  for  his  converts. 
His  phraseology,  as  so  often,  is  full  of  the 
Greek  palcestra  with  its  wrestlers,  and  of  the 
Greek  stadium  with  its  races.  The  persistent 
grapple  with  opposing  limbs,  the  toiling 
energies  all  bent  upon  the  goal  and  the 
victorious  wreath  ;  these  scenes  are  in  his 
mind,  and  shape  his  thought,  and  point  his 
words.  He  is  conscious  of  a  power  not 
his  own  "  acting  within  him,"  a  reserve  of 
force  inexhaustible,  with  which  to  wrestle  and 
to  run.     But  he  is  equally  aware  that  for  him, 

as  truly  as  for  any  competitor  who  ever  entered 

117 


Il8  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

the  Corinthian  or  the  Olympian  lists,  it  was 
necessary  to  use  the  power  within  him.  The 
Lord  is  in  him ;  He  is  His  servant's  "  arm 
every  morning"  (Isa.  xxxiii.  2).  But  he,  in 
the  Lord's  Name,  must  use  the  Arm,  for 
labour  and  for  strife.  The  powers  which 
wrestle  with  him  for  the  ruin  of  his  work 
are  real,  and  are  resolute ;  he  must  indeed 
meet  them,  foot  to  foot,  force  to  force, 
in  Christ.  His  enemy  would  do  anything  to 
divert  his  gaze  from  the  goal,  and  to  make 
his  foot  slip  as  he  goes ;  he  means  nothing 
less  than  Paul's  total  failure.  Then  Paul, 
having  God  working  in  him,  must  "  run,  not 
uncertainly " ;  he  must  put  out  freely  the 
resources  of  the  indwelling  Life. 

But  now,  what  is  the  contest  ?  Is  it,  just 
at  present,  some  great  enterprise  of  external 
labour?  Is  it  to  attack  another  continent  for 
Christ  ?  To  brave  new  shipwrecks,  and  new 
riots,  on  the  way  from  shore  to  shore,  or 
town  to  town,  proclaiming  the  blessed  Name  ? 
Not  at  all.  Such  "striving"  is  at  present 
physically  impossible  for  him.  The  whole 
travelling   activity    of   the    Apostle    is    limited 


ST    PAUL   AT    PRAYER  119 


now  by  the  walls,  doors,  and  bolts  of  "  the 
hired  lodging,"  and  by  the  chain  which  attaches 
him  to  the  Praetorian  sentinel.  Whatever  he 
does,  whatever  he  endures  or  achieves, 
he  must  now  do  it — sitting  still.  Yes,  but  he 
can  "strive  according  to  the  active  force"  of 
his  Lord  none  the  less  powerfully  and  effec- 
tually for  this.  It  is  more  than  ever  open  to 
him  in  this  compulsory  retirement  to  wrestle 
and  to  run  in  intercessory  prayer. 

Prayer  is  now  his  grave  and  assiduous 
occupation  ;  his  toil,  his  course.  The  opening 
words  of  ch.  ii.,  the  passage  at  present  before 
us,  tell  us  this.  He  is  working  hard,  like  the 
wrestler  on  the  ribbed  floor  of  the  Olympian 
court;  he  is  engaged  in  a  long  indefatigable 
effort  for  the  Colossian  converts,  and  their 
neighbours.     And  it  all  means — Prayer. 

Whole  treatises  have  been  written  on  the 
Prayers  of  St  Paul.  Those  prayers  afford 
rich  material  for  exposition,  as  they  lie  scattered 
over  the  Epistles,  and  let  us  into  the  depths 
of  this  wonderful  man's  heart,  and,  through 
that  heart  and  its  desires,  give  us  fresh  sights 
of  Christ's   grace   and   glory.     One   of    those 


120  C0L0SSIAN    STUDIES 

prayers  we  have  already  gone  over  in  these 
chapters.  But  let  us  pause  here  a  little  while 
to  consider  not  so  much  the  matter  of  St  Paul's 
prayers  as,  so  to  speak,  their  manner.  As 
we  read  them,  for  example  in  this  Epistle, 
or  in  Ephesians,  or  more  briefly  in  Philippians, 
we  read  a  series  of  well-ordered  utterances, 
all  pregnant  with  the  living  truths  of  revelation. 
We  can,  if  we  please,  study  them  from  a 
purely  doctrinal  standpoint ;  so  full  and  rich 
is  their  language  about  grace,  and  glory,  and 
holiness,  and  Christ.  But  what  was  the  manner 
of  these  prayers,  not  as  they  are  recorded  but 
as  they  were  uttered  ?  It  was  the  manner  of 
a  conflict  (aya>v) ;  it  was  a  wrestle. 

I  cannot  doubt  that  this  meant  often  an 
importunity  which  expressed  itself  in  urgent 
visible  action.  It  must  have  made  the 
Praetorian  wonder  to  see  this  extraordinary 
prisoner  at  his  prayers  ;  to  watch  his  agitation 
of  look  and  bearing,  to  hear  his  voice 
labouring  to  utter  all  his  heart,  in  tones 
half  suppressed  sometimes,  but  sometimes  not 
suppressed  at  all ;  to  mark  the  falling  tears, 
or  the  kindling  smiles,  as  the  direction  of  the 


HIS    MANNER    OF    PRAYING  121 

supplication  changed.  May  we  not  be  sure 
that  it  was  often  so  ?  And  would  not  these 
scenes  often  be  prolo7iged  ?  If  St  Paul's 
metaphor  of  the  wrestle  is  true  to  itself,  the 
prayer  would  be  no  brief  crisis  of  devotion. 
It  would  go  on,  and  on.  It  would  be  like 
those  almost  interminable  strifes  in  the  Greek 
games,  of  which  the  antiquarians  tell  us,  when 
the  "  pancratiasts "  would  try  strength  and 
skill  against  one  another  far  on  from  the  day 
into  the  night.  To  take  an  illustration  in- 
finitely more  noble,  it  would  be  as  when  in 
the  ravine  of  Jabbok  the  Patriarch  wrestled 
with  the  mysterious  Man,  and  persevered 
with  Him  till  the  day  broke  over  the  dark 
eastern  hill. 

Nothing  is  more  likely  than  that  St  Paul 
thus  openly  strove  with  God  in  prayer,  in 
the  room  where  he  was  never  alone  for  one 
minute.  We  must  remember  that  he  was  an 
Oriental,  and  that  Oriental  gravity  is  somehow 
strangely  exempt  from  our  Western  shyness 
in  matters  of  religion.  I  have  myself  seen, 
in  a  railway  carriage,  between  Jerusalem  and 
Jaffa,   a   Moslem,   a  prominent  official    of  the 


122  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

port,  before  the  whole  company  in  the  saloon- 
car,  draw  off  his  shoes,  gather  up  his  feet, 
and  address  himself  to  a  long  half-hour  of 
audible  prayer ;  totally  indifferent,  so  he 
seemed,  to  all  around  him  while  he  recited 
the  Names  of  Allah,  and  deliberately  chanted 
his  ascription  and  adoration.  We  must 
remember  the  Oriental  in  the  Apostle,  and 
also  that  the  sentinel  at  his  side,  though 
probably  not  an  Asiatic,  was  probably  a 
southern  European.  Far  less,  very  far  less, 
than  with  us  would  one  of  these  men  *in  the 
presence  of  the  other  shrink  from  unreserved 
and  prolonged  devotion. 

But  this  after  all  is  a  mere  accessory.  The 
heart  of  the  fact  before  us  is  not  the  outward 
but  the  inward  "manner"  of  St  Paul's  prayers 
for  his  converts.  It  was  the  manner  of  a 
wrestle  of  the  soul.  Visible  or  not  to  human 
eyes,  it  was  this  to  his  Lord  ;  a  sustained, 
importunate,  courageous  conflict ;  a  strife  with 
all  and  anything  which  would  withstand  his 
praying,  and  with  all  and  anything  which 
would  suggest  to  him  that  his  Lord  was  not 
listening,  and  would  not  bless. 


THE    CONFLICT    OF    PRAYER  1 23 

This  double  aspect  of  the  effort  we  trace  in 
the  word  "  conflict."  He  sets  himself  to  pray, 
and  he  meets  with  obstacles  to  the  act  of 
prayer  ;  perhaps  bodily  weariness,  or  pain,  or 
the  importunity  of  other  thoughts.  He  wrestles 
with  these  things ;  he  is  not  to  be  overcome ; 
he  "stirs  himself  up  to  lay  hold  on  God"; 
it  shall  be  no  light  thing  that  keeps  him  back 
from  a  real  "  access  with  confidence."  And 
then  in  the  work  of  praying,  once  well  begun, 
he  is  tempted  to  misgive.  The  Lord  seems  to 
"answer  never  a  word";  or  to  answer  only 
with  the  apparent  negative  of  new  anxieties 
and  disappointments  about  the  beloved  converts 
for  whom  he  strives.  "Is  not  the  effort  vain, 
visionary,  misdirected?  Is  not  your  God  un- 
favourable or  at  best  passive  in  this  matter 
over  which  your  heart  is  working  so  hard  ? 
Are  you  quite  sure  that  He  hears  ?  Does  the 
Infinite  really  attend  to  you?  Can  the  fact  of 
your  longings  and  their  verbal  utterance  affect 
the  Absolute  ?  Are  you  not  pouring  the  prayer, 
not  into  an  ear  which  listens,  and  so  into  a 
heart  which  loves,  but  into  the  fathomless 
void?"      And   then    with    these   enemies  also 


124  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

he  wrestles.  He  recalls  the  hope  that  is  in 
him.  He  recollects  his  Lord,  and  he  thrusts 
the  obstacles  aside,  and  prays  on.  "  He  will 
not  let  Him  go." 

Prayer  is  indeed  a  many-sided  thing.  True 
prayer  can  be  uttered  under  innumerably 
different  conditions.     Often,  very  often, 

"  Prayer  is  the  burthen  of  a  sigh, 
The  falling  of  a  tear, 
The  upward  glancing  of  an  eye, 
When  none  but  God  is  near." 

Prayer,  genuine  and  victorious,  is  continually 
offered  without  the  least  physical  effort  or  dis- 
turbance. It  is  often  in  the  deepest  stillness 
of  soul  and  body  that  it  wins  its  longest  way. 
But  there  is  another  side  of  the  matter.  Prayer 
is  never  meant  to  be  indolently  easy,  however 
simple  and  reliant  it  may  be.  It  is  meant  to 
be  an  infinitely  important  transaction  between 
man  and  God.  And  therefore  very  often, 
when  subjects  and  circumstances  call  for  it,  it 
has  to  be  viewed  as  a  work  involving  labour, 
persistency,  conflict,  if  it  would  be  prayer 
indeed. 

A  visitor  knocked  betimes  one  morning  at 


"GETTING    ACCESS  125 

the  door  of  a  good  man,  a  saint  of  the  noblest 
Puritan  type ;  and  that  was  a  fine  type  indeed. 
He  called  as  a  friend  to  consult  a  friend,  sure 
of  his  welcome.  But  he  was  kept  waiting  long ; 
at  last  a  servant  came  to  explain  the  delay ; 
"  My  master  has  been  at  prayer,  and  this 
morning  he  has  been  long  in  getting  access." 

Such  anecdotes  are  not  meant  to  "  bring  us 
into  bondage,"  as  if  because  this  was  once 
the  case  with  one  loyal  servant  of  God  we  are 
unfaithful  servants  if  our  prayers  are  sometimes 
easy,  and  ready,  and  comparatively  brief.  Nor 
are  St  Paul's  "  conflicts  "  to  be  quoted  for  such 
an  inference  either.  But  the  records  of  toil 
and  strife  in  prayer  have  a  message  neverthe- 
less for  all  believers.  They  remind  us  that 
prayer,  if  true,  is  a  transaction  worth  taking 
laborious  pains  about,  if  we  find  this  needful 
in  order  to  "  get  access."  The  fatal  danger  is, 
to  be  content  without  "  getting  access,"  and  so 
only  to  play  with  prayer. 

But  now  let  us  listen  to  this  man,  just  come 
from  his  wrestle  before  God. 

Ver.  1.     For  I   wish   you    to    know,    so    that    your 


126  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

sympathies  may  go  with  my  petitions  for  you,  how 
severe  (ffkUov)  a  conflict  I  am  having,  against  all  that 
withstands  my  intercessions,  on  behalf  of  {virep  :  so 
read)  you,  and  the  converts  in  Laodicea,1  and  all  who 
have  never  seen  my  face  in  flesh.2  For  you,  and  for 
them,  I  have  been  indeed  wrestling  in  prayer,  under 
a  profound  impression  of  their  dangers  and  their 
Ver.  2.  needs  ;  that  their  hearts,  their  thoughts, 
affections,  wills,  may  be  encouraged  (TrapaKXrjOcoaLv) ; 
they  being  (read  o-vpficfiao-divres)  knit  together,  com- 
pacted, welded  into  genuine  unity,  in  love,,  and  so 
enabled  to  rise  to  the  whole  wealth  (et'9  irav  to 
7rXovro<i)  of  the  full  exercise  of  their  (tj}<?)  intelligence, 


1  An  important  town  about  eleven  miles  from  Colossae,  to 
the  west,  in  the  same  river-valley.  It  is  nothing  now  but  a 
vast  scene  of  ruins. — Cp.  iv.  13,  15,  16,  and  Rev.  iii.  14,  for 
mentions  of  Laodicea. — In  363  a  small  Council  was  held  at 
Laodicea,  where  for  the  first  time  the  question  was  officially 
put,  what  sacred  Books  should  be  considered  canonical  and 
inspired,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others. 

2  Grammatically,  this  clause  may  or  may  not  mean  that 
the  Colossians  and  Laodiceans  had  never  seen  St  Paul.  But 
common  sense  seems  to  decide  for  its  meaning  that  they  had 
not  seen  him.  It  is  difficult  otherwise  to  see  the  point  of  him 
naming  Colossae  and  Laodicea  specially  and  alone,  whilst 
the  language  is  natural  if  they  were  the  leading  instances  of 
Churches  closely  connected  with  him  but  which  he  had  never 
personally  visited.  For  them,  and  for  such  as  them,  he  would 
thus  feel  a  distinctive  anxiety,  having  so  much  to  do  with 
them,  yet  never  having  had  the  opportunity  of  fully  and  orally 
instructing  and  warning  them. 


CHRIST    THE    SECRET    OF    GOD  1 27 


resulting    in   (ek)  the  true   (eVi-)  knowledge   of   the 
mystery  of  God,  the   Secret  He   has   to  disclose  for 

Ver.  3.  our  full  felicity— even  Christ l ;  in  whom 
are  all  the  treasures  of  His  (rrjsi)  wisdom  and  His 
knowledge,  hidden  there.  He  is  the  Father's  glorious 
Casket,  in  which  are  shut  all  the  mysteries  and 
treasures  of  grace,  planned  and  wrought  by  the 
eternal  Mind,  and  so  "  hidden  "  in  Him  that,  outside 
Him,  "eye  hath  not  seen  them,  nor  have  they 
entered  into  the  heart  of  man  to  conceive "  ;  aye, 
and  even  in  Him  they  are  hidden  still,  veiled 
in  their  own  glory,  as  to  our  completed  knowledge. 

Ver.  4.  Now  this  I  say— this  word  about  my  im- 
portunate prayer  that  you  may  all  grow,  and  grow 
together  with  one  another,  in  the  knowledge  of 
Christ's  hidden  glory — in  order  that  no  one  may 
reason  yon  over  with  (ei>)  beguiling  talk,  persuading 
you  to  think  another  path  to  peace  and  holiness 
more  safe,  more  reasonable,  more   honourable,  than 


1  A  maze  of  various  readings  meets  us  here.  The  two  most 
important  are  tov  pvo~Tr\piov  tov  Qeov  narpos  Xpurrov,  and  tov 
p..  tov  Seov  Xpio-To\>.  This  latter  phrase  grammatically  may 
mean  either,  "of  the  mystery  of  our  {tov)  God  Christ"  ;  or, 
"  of  the  mystery  of  the  God  of  Christ"  ;  or,  "  of  the  mystery 
of  our  God  {which  mystery  is)  Christ."  But  the  parallel 
words  of  i.  27,  tov  pvo-T-qpiov ,  6s  e'erri  Xpiords,  are  strongly  in 
favour  of  the  last  rendering.— The  reading  adopted  by  us 
here  is  advocated  elaborately  by  Bp  Lightfoot,  and  preferred 
on  the  whole  by  Dr  Scrivener. 


128  COLOSSI  AN    STUDIES 


this  one  Way  of  Christ.  Is  the  anxiety  needless? 
No  ;  for,  far  away  as  I  am,  I  yet  seem  to  see  your 
present  happy  state,  and  can  only  dread  the  more 
acutely    the    dangers    which     already    threaten     it. 

Ver.  5.  For  though  (el)  actually  (Vat)  as  to  my  (rfj) 
flesh  I  am  absent,  yet  as  to  my  (ra)  spirit  I  am  with 
you,  rejoicing  over  you,  and  looking  at  your  order, 
your  orderly  array  (rdgiv),  as  that  of  the  Lord's 
disciplined  soldiers,  and  at  the  solidity,  the  solid 
front,1  of  your  faith  in  Christ,  your  spiritual  coherence 
and  steadfastness,  due  to  your  common  reliance  on 
your  Lord.2  But  if  such  is,  as  it  is,  your  present 
happy  state,  see  that  it  is  continued,  in  a  con- 
tinuous  dependence   on   the    same    glorious   Secret. 

Ver.  6.  Therefore,  as  you  received  the  Christ,  even 
Jesus,  the  Lord,  the  one  blessed  historic  Jesus,  Theme 
of  prophets,  King  of  your  souls  ;  no  mystic  dream 
of  speculation  on  the  one  hand,  no  mere  human 
teacher  and  exemplar  on  the  other,  but  Son  of 
Man,  Christ  of  God ;  so,  even  so,  according  to  that 
once- welcomed,  unalterable  Truth,  in  Him  walk; 
live  your  whole  life   in    genuine  union   with    Him ; 

Ver.  7.     having  taken  root  (ippifa/xevoi,  perfect),  and 


1  "Orderly  array"  and  "solid  front"  are  Lightfoot's 
renderings  for  ra£iv  and  orepe'co/xa. 

2  With  the  words  arepewpa  tt}s  iricrreas  compare  Acts  xvi.  5, 
at  eKKXrja-iai  earepeovvTO  rfj  TriVret,  and  I  Pet.  V.  9,  w  dvriaTT]T€, 
(TTtpeol  rfj  iriarei. 


THE    POWER    OF    THANKSGIVING.  1 29 

now  getting  builded  up  {eiroiKoho^ovfievoi,  present),  in 
Him  (as  He  is  at  once  the  deep  genial  soil  of 
your  life  and  growth  and  the  corner-stone  of 
your  ascending  structure) ;  and  getting  stablishment 
(fiefiaiov/jbevoL :  note  the  present  participle)  by  your 
faith  (777  Trio-ret,),  just  as  you  were  taught,  (for  the 
old  truth  is  the  eternal  truth  ;)  abounding  in  it,  in 
your  faith,  in  the  glad  exercise  of  it  as  you  go,  in 
thanksgiving.  For  the  more  you  believe,  the  more 
you  will  be  constrained  to  give  thanks.  And  to 
live  a  life  of  thanksgiving  is  a  deep  secret  for 
soundness  and  persistency  in  the  truth  of  the 
Gospel. 

That  last  word,  "with  thanksgiving,"  is  surely 
no  mere  rhetorical  cadence  to  a  paragraph.  It 
conveys  what  I  have  briefly  indicated  in  closing 
the  paraphrase  once  more,  a  deep  and  beautiful 
precept  for  the  Christian  life.  Do  you  believe 
in  Christ  ?  And  do  you  live  amidst  surround- 
ings unfavourable  to  your  faith  ?  Is  it  directly 
assailed  ?  Is  it  secretly  undermined  ?  Are 
you  shocked  by  crude  denials  ?  Are  you 
bewildered,  made  wistful,  half  saddened,  half 
allured,  by  speculative  substitutes  for  the 
Gospel  of  the  Cross,  the  New  Birth,  the 
Fulness    of    the    Spirit,    the    blessed    Hope  ? 

9 


130  COLOSSI  AN    STUDIES 

Use  all  lawful  means  of  mental  and  spiritual 
resistance.  "  Gird  up  the  loins  of  your  mind'" 
(i  Pet.  i.  13).  Recall  the  vast  "  reason  of 
the  hope  that  is  in  you,"  so  that  you  do  it 
"with  meekness  and  fear"  (1  Pet.  iii.  15). 
But  among  other  preservatives,  do  not  forget 
this;  "in  your  faith,  abound  in  thanksgiving." 
There  is  a  great  and  profoundly  reasonable 
power  in  holy  thanksgiving  to  bring  home  to 
the  soul  the  reality  of  the  Treasure  for  which 
the  thanks  are  given.  The  heart  which  looks 
up  and  blesses  God  for  "  His  unspeakable 
Gift,"  His  own  Son,  "  who  was  delivered  for 
our  offences,  raised  for  our  justification,"  and 
glorified  for  our  life  and  glory,  will  develope 
a  holy  and  healthy  instinct  of  rejection  towards 
all  substitutes  for  Him.  Just  so  to  the 
Philippians  (iii.  1)  St  Paul  writes,  "  Rejoice 
in  the  Lord,"  because  he  is  so  sure,  amidst 
the  spiritual  dangers  he  sees  around  them,  that 
to  rejoice  in  the  Lord  "  for  them  is  safe" 

Let  classical  legend  for  once  contribute  its 
comment  and  illustration  to  divine  truth. 
11  The  Sirens,  by  the  sweetness  of  their  magic 
songs,   decoyed   upon  the  rocks  the  mariners 


"THE    REMEDY    OF    ORPHEUS"  I  3  I 

who  sailed  past  their  isles,  and  the  shores 
were  white  with  human  bones.  Ulysses  with 
his  crew,  and  Orpheus,  by  different  means 
escaped  the  danger.  Ulysses  stopped  the 
ears  of  his  men  with  wax,  and  (wishing  him- 
self to  hear  the  song,  and  to  hear  it  in  safety) 
caused  himself  to  be  fast  bound  to  the  mast. 
Orpheus  took  another  method  ;  he  raised  his 
voice  to  the  harp  in  loud  and  long  praises  of 
the  immortal  Gods,  and  thus  overcame  the 
charm  of  the  Sirens  with  another  and  a  better 
charm.  '  Far  the  best  in  every  way,'  says 
Bacon,1  '  is  the  remedy  of  Orpheus  ;  for  medita- 
tions upon  things  divine  surpass  the  delights 
of  sense  not  in  power  only  but  in  sweetness 
also. 

No  heart  is  more  vulnerable  to  doubt  and 
to  spiritual  delusion  than  the  unthankful  heart, 
which  will  not  walk  in  the  sunshine  of  the 
Lord.  No  fence,  many  a  time,  proves  stronger 
against  the  melancholy  Sirens  of  misbelief 
than  the  heart  which  says  (and  the  heart  can 

1  Wisdom  of  the  Ancients. 

2  From  a  note  to  a  Poem  by  the  author;    The  Beloved 
Disciple. 


i32  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 


say)   to    itself,    "  My   meditation  of  Him  shall 
be  sweet ;  /  will  b^  glad  in  the  Lord." 

But  then,  such  gladness,  such  thanksgiving, 
must    ever   be   feeding   and    living    not    upon 
itself  but  upon  its  Cause,  its  Secret.     We  must 
go    off  and   up    to    Him  for  the  renewal  and 
permanence  of  thanksgiving.     We  must  "con- 
sider   Him."       And,    "  as    we   have    received 
Him,"  through    the    message    of    H is  ^  Word, 
made  vital  by  His  Spirit,   "so  we  must  walk 
in  Him  "  in  common  life.     We  must  recollect 
Him  as   Root.     We  must  use   Him  as  Stone 
of  foundation,  and  Stone  of  the  corner.     Thus 
we  shall  abound,  as  in  faith,  so  in  thanksgiving. 
This  is  just  the  point  of  the  whole  Epistle, 
as    we    have    repeatedly    seen.       The    most 
dangerous     travesties    of    the     Gospel     were 
penetrating   the   quiet  circles  of  Colossae.     St 
Paul    meets    them   not    with   a   restatement  of 
abstract    principles,    but     with    the    incessant 
presentation  of  Jesus  Christ.     And  now,  par- 
ticularly,   he   has    presented    to    us   the    Lord 
Jesus   in  just   this   character— the   Secret   of 
God.     As    we    close,    let    us    pause  a  little  in 
thought  before  that  word. 


THE    CHARM    OF    A    SECRET  1 33 

Great  is  the  charm  of  secrecy,  of  the 
mysterious.  The  "  mysteries  "  of  old  Greece 
drew  innumerable  minds  with  an  almost  super- 
natural magnet,  to  seek  initiation.  The  cause 
must  have  lain  in  part  in  the  noble  purity 
and  elevation,  at  least  by  comparison,  of  the 
teachings  of  Eleusis.  But  a  powerful  con- 
current cause  surely  was  the  charm  of  secrecy. 
In  our  own  day,  who,  of  the  uninitiated,  has 
not  at  one  time  or  another  felt  the  attraction 
of  the  occultness  of  Freemasonry  ?  This 
instinct  was  largely  present  in  the  early  per- 
versions or  counterfeits  of  the  Gospel  of  the 
grace  of  God ;  it  was  evidently  thus  with 
"  the  Colossian  heresy."  Whatever  the  alien 
teachers  taught,  they  gave  it  out  that  they 
possessed  a  secret,  and  invited  candidates  for 
initiation,  who  should  in  their  turn  keep  the 
secret  from  all  uninitiated  minds.  The 
Apostle  meets  them  on  their  own  ground  ;  he 
has  a  Secret  too.  It  is  unknown,  it  is  un- 
knowable, save  to  the  initiated  soul.  It  can 
be  looked  at  from  outside  by  any  one,  as  any 
one  could  enter  the  outer  courts  of  the  great 
Attic  sanctuary  of  Demeter,  and  look  at  that 


134  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

inner  temple  where  the  mystics  went  in  alone. 
But  no  one  could  know  this  blessed  Secret 
without  entrance  in.  Jesus  Christ — any  one 
could  read  the  syllables,  who  knew  the 
alphabet.  Any  one  could  learn  the  facts  of 
the  history.  Any  one,  possessed  of  a  mind, 
could  apprehend  the  proof  of  them  as  facts, 
the  Resurrection  from  the  garden-tomb  in- 
cluded. Yet  Christ  remained  a  Secret,  till 
man  had  come  to  Him,  and  had  asked  to  enter 
in,  and  had  entered  in,  believing.  Then  He 
was  revealed.  Seen  from  within,  He  shone 
from  all  sides  upon  the  wondering  sinner's  soul, 
the  Secret  of  God — disclosed.  He  proved 
Himself  then  the  Answer  of  the  Eternal  to 
the  questions  of  the  agonized  conscience,  of 
the  weary  heart,  of  the  broken  will,  of  the 
man  "  who  through  fear  of  death  was  all  his 
lifetime  subject  to  bondage."  "  I  know  whom 
I  have  believed." 

"Nought  from  them  is  hidden,  knowing  Him  to  whom  all 
things  are  known."1 


1  From  the  hymn  of  Petrus  Damianus  (cent,  xi.)  de  Gaudus 
Paradisi,  in  Trench's  Sacred  Latin  Poetry. 


THE    DIVINE    ELEUSIS  I  35 

Yet  even  thus,  wonderful  and  delightful 
fact,  though  He  is  revealed,  He  is  still  the 
Secret.  "The  treasures"  are  still  in  Him 
"  hidden"  "  hiddenly "  (ver.  3),  as  one  ex- 
positor has  rendered  it.  For  though  He  has 
been  found,  yet  He,  this  same  Jesus,  is  the 
Almighty  ;  and  "  canst  thou  find  out  the 
Almighty  unto  perfection  ?  "  (Job  xi.  7).  The 
happy  believer  has  found  the  treasure-house  ; 
but  it  is  a  labyrinth  ;  its  riches  are  unsearch- 
able. For  ever,  though  he  knows  his  Lord 
as  the  world  does  not  and  cannot  know 
Him,  he  will  never  know  the  riches  that 
are  hid  in  Him  ;  he  will  never  touch  the 
depth  ;  he  will  never  issue  out  upon  the 
other  side. 

Happy  and  holy  initiation,  in  that  divine 
Eleusis !  And  let  the  privileged  votaries, 
within  the  Temple,  often  hold  mutual  converse 
about  the  wonders  they  are  given  to  see  ;  even 
as  St  Paul  prayed  that  the  Colossians  might 
be  "knit  together  in  love"  that  they  might 
all  the  better  "  know  the  wealth  of  the 
Secret." 

And  then  let  them  often  go  to  the  Temple 


I36  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

door  and,  remembering  the  will  of  God,  cry 
aloud  in  the  accents  of  certainty  and  joy, 
"  Him  that  cometh  unto  Jesus  Christ,  He 
will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 


PARDON,    LIFE,    AND    VICTORY  IN   THE 
CRUCIFIED    AND    RISEN    ONE 


i37 


Jesus-Christ  est  le  Dieu  de  l'homme,  comme  l'a  si  bien  dit  Pascal 
dans  quelques  pages  oil  il  developpe  d'une  maniere  profondement 
chretienne  la  place  que  Jesus-Christ  occupe  entre  Dieu  et  nous. 
II  est  le  Dieu  de  l'homme;  il  est  Dieu  qui  s'est  donne  a  nous;  il 
s'est  donne  tout  entier;  et  quand  nous  possedons  Jesus-Christ  par 
une  foi  veritable,  nous  ne  possedons  rien  moins  que  Dieu  lui-meme, 
et  en  lui  la  vie  eternelle. 

Ad.  Monod,  Adieux. 


138 


CHAPTER   VII 

PARDON,    LIFE,    AND    VICTORY    IN    THE    CRUCIFIED 
AND    RISEN    ONE 

Colossians  ii.  8-15 

CHRIST,  the  Secret  of  God";  this  was 
the  watchword  of  the  paragraph 
traversed  in  our  last  chapter.  The  same 
supreme  topic  rises  before  us  in  that  which 
we  now  approach.  We  shall  find  everywhere 
this  same  wonderful  Christ,  the  divine  Anti- 
thesis to  error  and  to  evil.  He  is  here  before 
us,  the  antidote  to  a  false  philosophy.  He 
is  literally  the  embodiment  of  the  Fulness  of 
the  Godhead,  and  we,  in  Him,  derive  that 
Fulness  into  our  needing  souls.  He  is  the 
vital  Head  of  all  power,  and  of  all  Powers. 
He  is  the  Minister  of  the  true  circumcision 
of  the    Spirit.     In    Him,   and   in   Him   alone, 

139 


140  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 


man  finds  his  inward  resurrection  to  new  life. 
In  Him,  the  Lord  of  the  better  Covenant, 
is  laid  up  for  us,  and  is  given  to  us,  a  perfect 
pardon,  won  through  the  Cross.  He,  on  that 
Cross,  achieved  overwhelming  and  eternal 
victory  over  the  dark  personal  powers  of  evil, 
His  enemies  and  ours.  Would  we  have  peace  ? 
Would  we  have  purity  ?  Would  we  have 
inexhaustible  resource  for  life  and  holiness  ? 
Would  we  have  strength  for  victory,  triumphing 
over  the  devil,  the  world,  and  the  flesh  ?  The 
answer  is  still  the  same.  Christ  is  the  Secret 
of  God. 

Perhaps  no  passage  even  in  this  Epistle 
calls  for  closer  attention  to  its  phrase  and 
argument  than  does  this.  Here  and  there  it 
presents  us  with  some  of  those  spiritual  stars 
of  the  first  magnitude  which  have  always 
arrested  the  attention  of  the  Christian.  But 
everywhere  this  field  is  "  sown  thick  with 
stars " ;  and  we  have  need  of  special  watch- 
fulness and  observation.  We  approach  our 
paraphrase  in  that  spirit.  We  will  work  in  a 
somewhat  piecemeal  fashion,  pausing  occasion- 
ally for  fuller  notice  by  the  way. 


A    CALL    TO    BEWARE  141 

Ver.  8.  Take  care  lest  any  one  1  (for  such  persons 
there  are,  known  to  me,  but  not  named)  be  your 
spoiler,  your  captor,  leading  you  off  as  his  helpless 
prey  into  the  land  of  error,  by  means  of  his  empty 
delusion  of  a  philosophy,2  his  alleged  system  and 
theory  of  truth  and  life,  according  to,  on  the  line 
and  scale  of,  the  tradition3  of  men,  the  teaching 
"  handed  on "  in  secrecy  and  mystery  from  one 
dreamer  to  another,  and  wholly  human  in  its  origin 
all  the  while ;  according  to  the  elements  of  the  world, 
the  elementary  lessons  4  of  rite  and  ordinance  which 
the  Gospel  has   superseded,  and  which  now,  if  put 


1  Lightfoot  points  out  that  this  expression  is  often  used  by 
St  Paul  when  he  alludes  to  opponents  whom  he  does  not  care 
to  specify.  Cp.  1  Cor.  xi.  16,  xv.  12  ;  2  Cor.  iii.  1,  x.  2,  12,  xi. 
20,  21  ;  Gal.  i.  7,  9  ;  2  Thess.  iii.  10,  11 ;  1  Tim.  i.  3,  6,  vi.  3,  21. 

2  Lit.,  "  by  the  (his)  philosophy  and  empty  delusion."  The 
second  term  explains  and  exposes  the  first ;  and  our  para- 
phrase will  fairly  represent  this. 

3  JJapddoa-ts,  "tradition,"  may,  and  often  does,  mean  merely 
"teaching,"  without  any  thought  of  secrecy,  or  any  distinction 
from  the  common  revealed  truth.  Cp.  2  Thess.  ii.  15,  iii.  6. 
In  this  sense  -n-apaboa-is  and  traditio  are  frequently  used,  by 
the  Greek  and  Latin  Fathers  respectively,  for  Holy  Scripture 
itself. — Strictly,  "tradition"  means  "what  is  handed  on"  to 
us,  whether  orally  or  in  writing.  But  here  obviously  it  bears 
a  more  occult  sense ;  an  alleged  secret  transmission  of 
mysteries. 

4  ^rotxela :  so  Gal.  iv.  3.  The  word  means  first  a  simple 
"  element,'  e.g.  a  sound  going  to  make  up  a  word.  Then  an 
element  or  early  principle  in  teaching ;    so   no   doubt  here. 


1 42  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 


into  competition  with  the  Gospel,  are  of  "the  world," 
non-spiritual,  and  not  according  to  Christ. 

We  reach  the  sacred  watchword  here,  and 
pause  to  listen  to  it.  Ov  Kara  Xptcrrov,  "  not 
according  to  Christ'1;  not  on  His  line,  not 
measured  by  Him,  not  referred  to  Him;  not 
so  that  He  is  Origin,  and  Way,  and  End, 
and  All.  The  "philosophy"  in  question 
would  assuredly  include  Him  somehow' in  its 
terms.  But  it  would  not  be  "  according  to 
Him."  It  would  take  its  principles,  and  draw 
its  inferences,  a  priori  and  from  other  regions  ; 
and  then  bring  Him  in  as  something  to  be 
harmonized  and  assimilated,  as  far  as  might 
be.  But  this  would  mean  a  Christ  according 
to  the  system  of  thought,  not  a  system  of 
thought  according  to  the  blessed  Christ.  And 
for  St  Paul  the  one  true  system  of  spiritual 
thinking  must  be  altogether  "according  to" 
Him.     It  must  have  Him  for  Alpha,  and  for 


Then  a  "  heavenly  body,"  regarded  as  a  first  ground  in  time- 
measurement  ;  and  some  ancient  expositors  see  this  here,  as 
if  St  Paul  had  been  referring  to  "  seasons  and  times  "  of  ritual 
observance  ;  new  moons,  etc.     But  this  is  far-fetched. 


"ACCORDING    TO    CHRIST"  1 43 

Omega,  and  for  all  the  alphabet  between.  It 
must  be  dominated  all  over  by  Him.  It  must 
"  know  nothing"  as  its  burthen,  as  its  wisdom, 
as  its  aim  and  ambition  in  research,  but  Him. 
This  would  mean  no  dwarfed  or  withered 
state  of  the  Christian  intellect  ;  rather  the  very 
opposite.  The  thinking  power,  working  on 
and  on  "  according  to  Christ,"  would  find  no 
lack  of  depth  and  height,  length  and  breadth, 
to  expatiate  in.  Let  a  man  of  elevated  and 
penetrating  understanding  get  a  true  view  of 
the  Christ  of  God,  as  the  Word  shews  Him 
and  the  Spirit  glorifies  Him,  and  he  will  have 
a  subject-matter  for  his  whole  mental  powers 
such  as  he  never  had  before.  But  the  very 
law  of  his  thought  now,  its  guarantee  at  once 
for  freedom  and  for  security,  will  be  to  think 
"  according  to  Christ."  He  will  find  himself 
now  not  studying  Christ  in  the  light  of  other 
things,  but  studying  everything  else  in  the  light 
of  Christ.  Christ  will  no  longer  be  a  light, 
however  brilliant,  shining  among  others  in  the 
firmament  of  thought.  He  will  be  the  Sun 
of  the  sky.  He  will  be  the  Sun  of  the  whole 
rolling  system. 


144  COLOSSI  AN    STUDIES 

Well  may  He  be  so,  when  we  ponder  the 
words  in  which  St  Paul  now  sets  forth  His 
glory. 

Ver.  9.  For  in  Him  resides,  as  in  a  settled  and 
congenial  home  (/caroi/cei),  all  the  fulness  of  the 
Deity 1  (^eoT^To?),  the  whole  glorious  total  of  what 
God  is,  the  supreme  Nature  in  its  infinite  entirety2; 
in  bodily  fashion,  conditioned  now  as  to  its  mani- 
festation and  communication  by  His  sacred  bodily 
state.  It  is  in  Him  not  only  as  He  is  the  SON,  but 
as  He  is  the  Son  INCARNATE.  It  is  not  limited 
and  confined  by  the  fact  that  "He  became  flesh  and 
tabernacled  in  us."  But  it  is  brought  unspeakably 
near  to  us  by  that  fact,  made  as  it  were  gloriously 
tangible  and  accessible  to  us  His  human  brethren, 
to  whom  this  wonderful  Bearer  of  the  divine  Fulness 
is  now  joined  as  Man.  Yes,  He  is  joined  to  us, 
and  we  to  Him  ;  He  is  in  us,  and  we  in  Him. 
And  thus  this  Fulness  is  for  us,  His  members.  We 
are  in  Him  ;  and  It  is  in  Him.  So  we  are  as  it 
were  immersed  in  It,  and  filled  with  It,  as  a  vessel 
dipped  in  the  sea  is  filled  with  the  very  sea  itself. 


1  The  Latin  word  Deltas  was.  coined  in  Christian  times, 
apparently  on  purpose  to  render  OeorTjs  more  fully  than  the 
vaguer  Divinitas. 

-  See  above,  on  ch.  i.  19. 


"IN    HIM    FILLED    FULL"  1 45 

Ver.  10.  And  you  are  (emphatically  so,  not  "you 
may  be  "  but  "  you  are ")  in  Him  filled  full  of  the 
Fulness  ;  in  His  promise,  presence,  power,  you  do 
possess  "all  things  needful  for  life  and  godliness." 
Just  so  far  as  you  rely  upon  Him  and  draw  upon 
Him,  you  "  possess  your  possessions,"  you  realize 
your  wealth,  you  are  filled  in  fruition  with  what 
already  fills  you  in  potency.  United  thus  to  Him, 
and  filled  thus  in  Him,  what  need  have  you  to  go 
to  a  lower  range  of  spiritual  forces  for  peace  and 
holiness  ?  For  He  (0?)  is  the  Head  of  every  government 
and  authority ;  all  the  ranks  and  orders  of  the 
Unseen,  how  glorious  soever,  are  but  limbs  of  Him 
their  Head.  And  you  are  His  limbs  too,  and  He 
is  your  Head,  in  the  wonder  of  His  living  union 
with  you.  Live  then,  for  it  is  your  right  and  it  is 
your  life  to  do  so,  live  at  and  on  the  Fountain 
itself ;   nothing  but  Christ,  nothing  between. 

It  is  the  truth  which  meets  us  everywhere 
in  the  revelation  of  Christ  in  His  Word ; 
"  nothing  between."  The  weakest  and  most 
unworthy  believer  is  here  seen  as  "joined 
unto  the  Lord  "  with  an  immediateness  quite 
absolute.  Not  by  the  intervention  of  the 
Church,  as  if  through  it  he  must  reach  Christ, 
and  touch   Him,   and  live    by   Him.     Not  by 

10 


I46  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

the  intervention  of  other  mediators,  the  supposed 
members  of  a  pantheon  of  unseen  powers, 
angelic  and  human,  carrying  up  to  the  throne 
the  distant  echo  of  our  faith,  and  bringing 
back  through  long  channels  something  of  the 
life  divine.  No  ;  it  is  a  far  nearer,  far  simpler, 
but  also  far  more  wonderful  matter.  "He 
that  is  joined  unto  the  Lord  is  one  spirit " 
(1  Cor.  vi.  17).  The  "limb,"  in  this  mystical 
body,  is  articulated  always  direct  into  the  Head. 
The  man  is  articulated  into  all  other  living 
limbs  ;  but  through  the  Head.  He  is  in  them 
through  Christ,  not  in  Christ  through  them. 
He  is  in  this  respect  as  near  to  the  Lord  as 
not  only  any  other  believer,  and  as  all  believers 
taken  together,  but  as  "  angels,  and  archangels, 
and  all  the  company  of  heaven."  "  Let  him 
love,  and  sing,,  and  wonder."  Let  him  also 
use  to  the  utmost,  now  and  here,  his  blessed 
position — "filled  full  in  Him  in  whom  resides 
all  the  Fulness,"  and  "  who  is  the  Head  of 
all  government  and  authority,"  being  also  the 
Head,  equally,  of  the  believing  sinner  in  his 
need. 

The  Apostle  now  goes  on  to  speak  of  this 


BAPTISM    AND    FAITH  1 47 


union  in  respect  of  its  beginning.  How  did 
they  enter  on  it  ?  From  one  point  of  view, 
in  the  outward  order,  by  their  Baptism.  From 
another  point  of  view,  in  the  inward  order,  by 
their  Faith.  The  relation  did  not  exist  once  ; 
it  was  no  necessary  fact  in  the  past.  They 
were  once  <l  outside  Christ"  (xwP^  Xpicrrov, 
Eph.  ii.  12).  They  were  not  at  all  "in  Him," 
and  so  indeed  they  were  not  "  filled  full  in 
Him."  But  divine  mercy  had  prepared  a  way 
of  entrance,  into  covenant,  into  life,  into 
pardon,  and  peace,  and  holiness,  and  heaven, 
because  into  Christ.  That  way  was  the 
glorious  counterpart  to  the  circumcision  of 
the  old  Israel,  in  which  was  given  both  a 
symbolical  separation  from  pollution  and  a 
definite  ceremonial  institution  into  blessing. 
The  way  of  entrance  was  from  one  side 
Baptism,  from  the  other  side  Faith  ;  faith, 
the  sinner's  acceptance  of  the  divine  terms 
and  grant  ;  baptism,  the  divine  seal  upon  the 
grant  and  the  acceptance.  Baptism,  so  viewed, 
not  as  the  substitute  for  faith  but  as  the  seal 
upon  the  promise,  and  upon  the  validity  of  our 
acceptance  of  it,  is  spoken  of  "  in  terms  of  the 


I48  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

thing  it  signifies."  And  so  it  is  described  as 
the  spiritual  burial  and  resurrection  of  the  man, 
and  as  his  gate  of  entrance  into  an  abundant 
and  assured  pardon,  and  into  the  very  victory- 
won  by  his  crucified  Lord  over  the  whole 
universe  of  evil. 

Let  us  keep  these  principles  in  view  as  we 
go  on  to  the  passage  before  us.  They  are 
sure  principles  of  the  Gospel,  above  alt  as  it 
is  unfolded  by  St  Paul.  Union  with  Christ 
is  the  very  life  of  our  spirits.  In  union  with 
Christ  we  possess  all  His  treasures.  We 
possess  the  "  forgiveness  of  all  our  trespasses," 
in  the  sense  of  peace  with  God  as  His  adopted 
and  accepted  children.  We  read  our  condem- 
nation cancelled,  as  it  hangs  on  the  Lord's 
Cross,  fastened  there,  and  torn  there,  by 
the  ensanguined  nails.  We  possess  a  divine 
separation  from  sin's  polluting  grasp  and  claim. 
We  possess  a  resurrection-life,  holy,  endless, 
in  our  risen  Redeemer.  And  how  do  we  enter 
upon  it  all  ?  By  "  the  circumcision  of  Christ  "  ; 
the  circumcision,  that  is  to  say,  administered 
by  Christ ;  not  a  material  ordinance  but  a 
spiritual  act,  His  act  of  joining  us  to  Himself. 


"THE   CIRCUMCISION    OF    CHRIST"  1 49 

From  our  side,  we  enter  in  by  our  faith  in 
His  saving  Name,  by  our  reliance  in  response 
to  that  act  of  redeeming  love  ;  this  is  our 
part  in  tying  the  knot  of  union  with  the  Lord.1 
Or  again,  otherwise,  regarding  the  matter  from 
the  view-point  of  outward  order,  we  enter  in 
by  our  "  baptism  into  the  Name  "  of  salvation. 
For  that  baptism  "visibly  signs  and  seals" 
(Art.  xxvii.)  all  the  promises  to  faith,  and 
embodies  them  ;  and  so  it  is  to  our  possession 
of  Christ  as  the  patent  is  to  the  nobility,  as 
the  sealed  deed  is  to  the  house  and  land. 

So  viewed  (to  pause  yet  a  moment  before 
our  paraphrase  proceeds)  our  blessed  Baptism 
is  "the  outward  and  visible  sign"  of  "the 
circumcision  of  Christ."  That  "circumcision" 
is  a  thing  greater,  deeper,  more  divine  than 
any  outward  rite,  Mosaic  or  Christian.  It  is 
the  real  "  death  to  sin  and  new  birth  to 
righteousness"  wrought  in  man  by  the  almighty 
grace  which  makes  him  a  living,  believing 
member  of  the  Christ  of  God.     But  baptism 


1  See    Bishop   Hopkins    (of    Derry,    1690),    On    the    2  wo 
Covenants. 


150  C0L0SSIAN    STUDIES 

is   its  outward  counterpart.     It  puts  the  holy- 
Thing  into  symbol,   and  seal,  and  embodying 
visibility,  at  the  command  of  the  Lord  Himself. 
So   it  is  in  a   true  sense  the   successor  of  the 
circumcision  of  Moses,  while  it   is   the  symbol 
of    the    circumcision    of    Christ.     Yet    all    the 
while,   let   us   keep  our  thoughts  clear  on  the 
inmost  truth  of  the  matter.     The  circumcision 
of  Christ  is  nothing  short,  is  nothing  less?  than 
that    "  passing   from    death    unto    life "    which 
grace  grants  to  "him  that  cometh  unto"  Jesus. 
"  Verily,    verily,    I     say    unto    you,     He    that 
heareth  My  word,  and  believeth  on  Him  that 
sent   Me,   hath  everlasting  life,  and   shall   not 
come    into  condemnation ;   but  is  passed  from 
death  unto  life  "  (John  v.  24).     So  we  proceed. 

Ver.  11.  In  whom,  too,  "in"  this  wonderful  Head, 
("  in  "  Him,  for  the  very  crisis  now  in  view  was  your 
entrance  "into"  Him,)  you  were  circumcised  with  a 
circumcision  not  done  by  hand,  not  of  the  material 
order,  no  mere  physical  operation,  in  your  (7$)  putting 
quite  off1  the  body  of  the  flesh,  finding  a  wonderful 

Ei>  rfj  arreKdvaei  tov  aco/xaroy  ttjs  aapnos.  'A7re/cSuo"ir  is  a 
strong  word,  a  double  compound;  I  have  expressed  this  by 
"quite"   in   the   paraphrase.— The   evidence  ;is   against  the 


THE    CIRCUMCISION    OF    CHRIST  151 

emancipation  from  the  clinging  power  of  temptation 
through  the  body,  in  the  circumcision  of  Christ.  "  Of 
Christ " ;  for  your  "  putting  off  the  body  of  the 
flesh  "  was,  from  the  divine  side,  an  act,  an  operation, 
done  by  your  Lord  when  you  came  to  be  joined  in 
covenant  to  Him.  It  was  a  separation  between  you 
and  the  power  and  pollution  of  evil,  wrought  by 
Him  in  the  act  of  embodying  you  as  a  believer 
into  Himself.  In  that  gracious  act  of  love  and 
power  He  took  you  into  union  with  Himself  as  He 
died  for  you  and  rose  again.  You  were  made 
partaker  of  His  atoning  Death  and  of  the  Burial 
which  sealed  and  as  it  were  completed  it  ;  all  its 
purchased  pardon  was  now  your  own,  and  all  the 
abolition  of  sin's  claim  upon  the  sinner  ;  all  the 
guilt,  and  all  the  enslaving  power,  were  done  away 
for  you.      And  then  too  He  joined  you  to  Himself 


reading,  Iv  rfj  dneicd.  rod  o\  tcov  afiaprioov  ttjs  aapKos  :  tuv  o/x. 
should  be  omitted,  as  probably  a  gloss. — The  phrase  thus 
presented  is  bold  indeed;  the  regenerate  man,  in  Christ, 
appears  as  divested  of  the  body  ;  which  in  St  Paul  appears  to 
mean  always  the  physical  frame,  though  with  a  deep  side- 
reference  to  its  connexion  with  temptation  and  sin.  Here  it 
is  "  the  body  of  the  flesh,"  i.e.  as  conditioned  by  "  the  flesh," 
which  in  St  Paul  commonly  denotes  the  self-life ;  self-will, 
self-pleasing,  as  the  outcome  of  our  fallen  state.  Of  the  body 
thus  conditioned  the  man  is  "divested,"  in  the  sense  of  his 
finding  in  Christ  a  strong  deliverance  from  the  assaults  of  evil 
through  it. 


152  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

in  the  fulness  of  His  risen  Life.  As  He  died  for 
you,  the  law  is  at  peace  with  you,  and  sin  shall 
not  reign  in  you ;  as  He  rose  for  you,  you  live 
because  He  lives,  and  with  a  life  direct  from  Him. 
And  of  this  spiritual  miracle  and  glory  your  Baptism 
is  God's  own  sign,  and  seal,  and  visible  counterpart ; 
such  that  we  speak  of  it  as  if  it  were  the  regenera- 
tion-gift itself.  Thus  then  you  were  spiritually 
"  circumcised,"  into  the  new  Covenant  of  peace  and 
Ver.  12.  life,  when  buried  along  with  Him  in  your 
(tc5)  Baptism;  a  burial  figured  by  your  plunge  in 
the  baptismal  pool1;  in  which  too,  in  which  baptismal 
rite,  you  rose  along  with  Him,  by  means  of  your  (rrfc) 
faith  in  (lit,  "of")  the  working  of  our  (to£>)  God,  who 
raised  Him  from  the  dead ;  "  who  raised  Him  from 
the  dead  and  gave  Him  glory,  that  your  faith  and 
hope  might  be  in  God." 

How  strong  is  the  emphasis  laid  here  by 
St  Paul,  and  not  only  here,  on  the  holy  Baptism 
of  the  Christian.  Quite  sure  I  am  that  by 
St  Paul,  and  by  the  primeval  Church  generally, 


1  Beyond  doubt  the  ideal  of  Baptism  was  immersion.  There 
is  no  proof  however  that  actual  immersion  was  ever  a  vital 
necessity  to  the  rite ;  the  symbolical  washing  somehow  would 
probably  be  enough  for  signification.  The  verb  ficarrifa  is 
certainly  not  conclusive. 


BAPTISM  I  5  3 


Baptism  was  not  regarded  as  a  quasi-miraculous 
operation,    through    which    as   an    action,    and 
necessarily  at  its  very  time,  a  spiritual  revolu- 
tion   took    place   within    the    recipient,     or    a 
spiritual  spark  was  cast  into  his  life.     My  deep 
belief  is  that  the  true  apostolic  idea  of  Baptism 
was  that   of  the    "  sealing    ordinance."       That 
view     leaves    absolutely    free    the    sovereign 
Spirit's   action    upon    the  soul,   and  the  soul's 
action    Godward    in    the    simplest    coming    to 
Christ    for   life.      But  then,  it  gives  also   and 
at  the  same  time  divine  honour  to  Baptism.     It 
makes  it,  to  the  full,  God's  own  Sign-manual 
to  His  Word,  God's  own  Seal  at  the  foot  of 
His  charter  of  the  salvation  which  is  by  faith. 
And   thus    it    bids   the    Christian    teacher  and 
believer,    in    the    full    bright    daylight    of   the 
Gospel    of    grace    and    faith,    make    much    of 
Baptism,    whether   given    to   the  adult  as   the 
sequel    to  faith   or   to   the  infant   child  of  the 
Church  in  prospect  of  it.     It  bids  him  cherish 
the  God-given  Rite  which,  in  the  language  of 
old  theology,  sahitem  in  rem  ducit,   "  embodies 
salvation,"  puts  it  as  it  were  into  the  concrete, 
and  says  to  the  baptized,   "  As  surely  as  your 


154  COLOSSI  AN    STUDIES 

body  received  the  water  of  the  Covenant,  so 
surely,  so  much  as  matter  of  fact,  does  your 
soul,  through  faith  which  rests  on  Christ, 
receive  the  mighty  gift  of  the  Covenant,  its 
'  grace  ' — pardon,  peace,  new  life,  new  creation, 
all  things  new." 

St  Paul  now  proceeds  to  tell  the  Colossians, 
in  words  of  close  personal  application,  more 
of  what  their  Baptism  means  to  them*  thus 
viewed. 

Ver.  13.  And  you,1  you  Colossians  ;  let  me  speak 
without  reserve  of  your  awful  original  need  of 
mercy  ;  you,  dead  that  you  were  in  respect  of  (rols) 
your  trespasses,  and  the  uncircumcision  of  your  flesh, 
totally  devoid  of  spiritual  life,  in  any  sense  which 
could  mean  a  power  within  you  for  revival  and 
renewal  ;  helpless,  and  alienated,  with  an  alienation 
evidenced  by  actual  transgressions,  and  generally 
(is  it  not  true  ?)  by  a  life  defiled  by  the  dominion 
of  "  the  flesh,"  the  power  of  self  upon  the  throne  ; 
you,    thus    circumstanced,    cold    and    helpless    in    a 

1  The  construction  is  carried  on,  and  then  dropt,  and  its 
direction  altered.  It  is  as  if  he  would  have  written,  rod 
eyelpavros  avrbv  Zk  vexpcov,  na\  vp.as  ev  niru.  But  he  takes 
up  Koi  vfj,ds  as  the  point  of  departure  of  a  new  assertion  :  kcu 
iifxds  .    .   .   crvvf^aoTrnirjcre. 


THE    HANDWRITING    AND    THE   CROSS         I  55 

spiritual  grave,  He  raised  you  together  to  life *  with 
Him,  with  Christ,  (in  the  Resurrection  of  Christ, 
appropriated  and  as  it  were  assimilated  by  you  in 
faith,)  forgiving  us2  all  those  (to)  trespasses  of  ours, 
those  iron  bars  between  us  and  our  life  and  peace  ; 
Ver.  14.  blotting  out,  cancelling,  the  bond,  the  dread- 
ful "  note-of-hand  "  (xeLPhpa4>0V)'  couched  in 3  the 
ordinances,  the  statutes,  precepts,  of  the  eternal  Law 
which  we  had  broken,  and  which  thus  had  a  fatal 
claim  upon  us ;  the  bond  which  was  directly  (vir-) 
against  us,  inexorably  demanding  our  satisfaction  or 
our  death  ;  and  it,4  this  condemning  law,  He  has :' 
taken  out  of  the  midst,  out  of  the  way,  between  us 
and  a  reconciled  Father,  fastening  it  with  nails  to 
the  cross  where  the  Lord  died  for  us,  the  Just  for 
the  unjust,  our  Sin-bearer,  stricken  for  our  sins,  that 
He  might  put  their  guilt  away. 

It  is  a  wonderful  picture.  Behold  the  Cross 
of  the  Atonement,  dyed  with  the  blood  of  the 
Lord.     Against  it  hangs,  rent  by  the  affixing 

1  Probably  read  here,  awe  (coon  oiijcrev  vfias  aw  avrco. 

2  Read  rjulv.  "He  is  eager  to  claim  his  share  in  the 
transgression,  that  he  may  claim  it  also  in  the  forgiveness" 
(Lightfoot). 

3  So  I  attempt  to  express  the  "  dative  of  relation,"  rols 
Sciy/iao-t. 

4  Avto  is  slightly  emphatic  by  position. 

5  The  perfect  rjpnev  indicates  an  abiding  result. 


156  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

nails,  a  document.  Approach  and  read ;  it  is 
no  less  a  thing  than  the  Law  of  God !  You 
wonder.  Is  it  possible  ?  Is  it  rightful  ?  Is  it 
not  horrible  ?  No ;  for  that  Law  is  there  not 
in  its  character  as  the  expression  of  the  divine 
Will  but  as  the  covenant  broken  by  the  sinner, 
and  therefore  turned  into  his  mortal  foe,  his 
sentence  of  second  death.  But  the  claim  is 
met ;  the  sentence  exhausted.  It  has  been 
done  by  our  Head  for  us  His  members  ;  by 
our  "  sacred  Head  once  wounded "  on  that 
Cross.  So  now  that  "bond,"  as  to  its  hostility 
to  our  peace  and  salvation,  is  dealt  with  and 
put  aside.  As  such  it  is  cancelled.  The  nails 
of  the  Crucifixion  pierce  it,  to  announce  that 
it  is  cancelled,  and  to  hold  it  up  to  view  as 
the  sinner's  enemy  no  more. 

Here  is  indeed  "  the  wondrous  Cross." 
What  is  it  ?  No  mere  scaffold  of  the  martyr, 
nor  only  the  scene  of  a  supreme  example  of 
love  and  fortitude  stronger  than  death.  It  was 
indeed  the  instrument  of  an  infinitely  true 
Martyrdom  and  Example.  But  much  more 
it  was,  for  us,  that  quite  different  thing,  the 
instrument  of  the  propitiatory  Sacrifice  in  which 


THE   TRIUMPH    OF    THE    CROSS  I  57 

"  Christ  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law, 
being  made  a  curse  for  us"  (Gal.  iii.  13).  And 
never  shall  we  understand  the  true  glory  of 
the  Example  till  we  have  seen  something  of 
the  necessity  and  awfulness  of  the  Propitiation, 
and  have  found  in  it,  or  rather  in  Him  who 
"  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins "  (1  John  ii.  2), 
our  rest  and  life. 

One  further  word  the  Apostle  has  to  say 
here  about  that  Cross.  It  was  the  implement 
of  our  most  merciful  deliverance.  It  was  on 
its  other  side  the  implement  of  our  Deliverer's 
mighty  triumph  over  His  enemies  and  ours, 
the  powers  of  the  dark  Unseen.  We  infer 
from  the  words  now  to  follow  that  they  who, 
with  their  Prince,  had  so  often  crossed  the 
path  of  the  incarnate  Lord,  flocked  as  it  were 
round  His  dying  head  in  expectation  of  triumph 
over  Him  at  last.  They  had  long  withstood 
the  work  of  Redemption  in  its  progress. 
They  had  ruined  Paradise.  They  had  drawn 
antediluvian  man  into  monstrous  sinfulness, 
till  the    race   was  all   but  blotted  out.1     They 

1  Is  not  the  real  reference  to  them  in  i  Pet.  iii.  19,  20? 
There  is  no  proof  that  tu  iv  cj)v\aK^  ■Kvevfiarc  means  disembodied 


I  5  S  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

had  appeared  in  unprecedented  force  as  possess- 
ing spirits  just  when  the  Lord  walked  the 
earth.  Their  Leader  had  tempted  Him  in  the 
desert,  and  (may  we  not  be  sure?)  had  returned 
upon  Him  in  Gethsemane.  And  now  in  the 
darkness  round  the  Cross,  so  it  would  seem, 
the  host  of  evil  was  present  again.  Will  not 
the  Son  of  Man  at  length  be  overwhelmed  ? 
Will  not  the  Second  Adam  follow  the  First 
in  his  defeat,  though  by  so  different  a  path  ? 
No  ;  the  defeat  is  theirs,  not  His.  He  strips 
them,  by  His  atoning  death,  of  their  spoils, 
their  captives.  He  leads  His  conquered 
enemies  along,  disgraced  for  ever  before  the 
moral  universe  ;  and  thus  the  Cross  is  the 
triumph-chariot  of  this  wonderful  Imperator. 

Vcr.  15.  Despoiling1  the  governments  and  the  authori- 
ties ;    the    dreadful    hierarchy    of    evil,    bent    upon 

human  spirits.  They  may  well  be  the  unseen  adversaries  of 
Redemption,  to  whom,  in  their  dark  world,  the  Lord  in  His 
intermediate  State  comes  to  proclaim  (eV^pu^e)  His  victory 
over  them. 

1  'Ancubva-dnevos  :  the  rendering,  "stripping  off  from  Him- 
self," has  been  recommended ;  as  a  wrestler  casts  from  him 
his  disabled  antagonist.  The  R.V.  renders,  "  having  put  off 
from   Himself,"  with  the  very  improbable  alternative  in  the 


"OUR    LAMB    HATH    OVERCOME"  I  59 

retaining  us  as  their  spoils,  plundered  from  God  ; 
He  exposed  them,  "  made  a  shew  of  them," x  with 
boldness,  with  the  open,  outspoken  (irapprjcria)  con- 
fidence of  unquestioned  victory,  holding  triumph  over 
them  on  it ;  on,  in,  the  Cross ;  His  scaffold  from  one 
view-point,  His  imperial  chariot  from  another. 

Even  so,  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  So  didst  Thou 
conquer ;  so  were  our  deadly  enemies  trodden 
down  under  Thy  sacred  feet,  yes,  while  those 
feet  were  pierced  upon  the  Tree.  Then  let 
us  appropriate  and  enjoy  Thy  victory,  and  bid 
meek  defiance  in  Thy  Name  to  the  hosts 
of  the  darkness,  within  us  and  around  us. 
"  Jesus  they  know." 

Vicit  Agnus  noster ;  Eum  sequamur. 


margin,  "  having  put  off  (His  body)."  But  the  middle  aireichv- 
aao-dai  could  quite  properly  mean,  "stripping  them  (of  their 
possessions)  for  Himself.''''  And  this  is  surely  much  more 
in  keeping  with  the  context,  where  the  imagery  of  a  Roman 
triumph  seems  to  be  in  view. 

1  The  Latin  versions  have  traditxit,  the  word  which  would 
be  used  of  the  procession  of  captives  in  a  triumph  at  Rome. 


He  gave  me  back  the  bond  ; 
It  was  a  heavy  debt ; 
And  as  He  gave,  He  smil'd,  and  said, 
"Thou  wilt  not  Me  forget." 

He  gave  me  back  the  bond ; 

The  seal  was  torn  away; 
And  as  He  gave,  He  smil'd,  and  said, 

"Think  thou  of  Me  alway." 
*  *  *  * 

It  is  a  bond  no  more, 

But  it  shall  ever  tell 
All  that  I  ow'd  was  fully  paid 

By  my  Emmanuel. 

Sabine 


i  6c 


HOLY  LIBERTY  IN  UNION   WITH  CHRIST 


161  II 


Make  me  a  captive,  Lord, 

And  then  I  shall  be  free; 
Force  me  to  render  up  my  sword 

And  I  shall  conqueror  be : 
I  sink  in  life's  alarms 

When  by  myself  I  stand; 
Imprison  me  within  Thine  arms, 

And  strong  shall  be  my  hand. 

G.  Matheson,  D.D. 


162 


CHAPTER  VIII 

HOLY   LIBERTY    IN    UNION    WITH   CHRIST 
Colossians  ii.  16-23 

ST  PAUL  has  unfolded  something  of  the 
treasures  hidden  for  us  in  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  He  has  disclosed  to  us  the 
bright  depths  of  the  divine  "  Fulness,"  all 
embodied  in  Him,  so  that  we,  being  in  Him, 
are  filled  full  of  It.  He  has  told  us  that  our 
union  with  Him  is  a  spiritual  circumcision, 
an  act  powerful  for  our  purification,  and  also 
the  pledge  of  all  the  gifts  of  the  better 
Covenant.  He  has  led  us  up  to  the  Cross  of 
Calvary,  and  shewn  us  there  the  death-warrant 
of  the  broken  Law,  pierced  with  the  nails 
that  pierced  the  Lord,  cancelled  for  ever  by 
His  precious  death  in  our  stead ;  we,  His 
members,  enjoy  the  "  forgiveness  of  all  our 
trespasses "    because    our    Head    has   suffered 

163 


I  64  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

for  them.  And  then  He  has  lifted  the  veil 
of  the  Unseen,  to  shew  us  the  awful  personal 
powers  of  evil  spoiled  of  their  prey,  con- 
quered in  what  seemed  their  hour  of  conquest, 
led  along  in  triumph  by  our  King,  who  has 
transfigured  the  Cross  into  the  car  of  victory. 

It  is  Jesus  Christ,  always  and  everywhere. 
The  invaders  of  the  Colossian  mission  had 
never  indeed  professed  to  banish  Him  out  of 
their  system  ;  but  they  did  not  enthrone  Him 
in  it  everywhere  and  always ;  and  it  is  this 
which  His  servant  cannot  tolerate.  Such  is 
Jesus  Christ  that  He  cannot  but  claim  to  be 
"all  things  in  all  things"  to  us,  if  we  would 
be  Christians  indeed.  The  programme  of 
our  personal  religion  must  be  nothing  short 
of  this,  if  we  would  find  in  it  not  merely  a 
law  for  external  performance  but  an  inward 
joy  and  force.  Christ  for  us,  Christ  in  us  ;  this 
is  religion  at  its  heart,  at  its  vitals.  Blessed 
are  they  who  find  this  out  for  themselves  under 
the  illumination,  under  the  anointing,  of  His 
Holy  Spirit. 

Before  me  on  my  table  lies  a  paper  of  four 
pages,   headed   "  Christ  is  all  and  in  all."     It 


"CHRIST    IS    ALL    AND    IN    ALL"  1 65 

is  just  a  collection  of  Scripture  passages, 
arranged  and  combined,  to  set  forth  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  as  He  meets  the  needs  of  the 
sinner.  "  Thou  that  believest  on  Him  unto 
eternal  life  (i  Tim.  i.  16),"  so  begins  this 
paper,  "meditate  upon  these  things:  Thy 
sins  (Luke  xv.  18) — Christ's  cross  (i  Pet.  ii. 
24)  :  thy  guilt  (Rom.  iii.  19) — Christ's  righteous- 
ness (Phil.  iii.  9) :  thy  weakness  (Rom.  vii. 
18) — Christ's  strength  (2  Cor.  xii.  9):  thy 
temptations  (1  Pet.  i.  6) — Christ's  tenderness 
(Heb.  iv.  15).  .  .  .  Remember  this: — When 
thou  hast  sinned — Christ  is  thy  Advocate 
(1  John  ii.  1)  :  when  thou  doubtest — Christ  is 
the  Truth  (John  xiv.  6) :  when  thou  changest 
— Christ  is  the  Same  (Heb.  xiii.  8)  :  when 
thou  diest — Christ  liveth  (Job  xix.  25)  :  when 
thou  art  buried — Christ  is  the  Resurrection 
(John  xi.  25)  :  when  the  world  allureth — Christ 
overcame  (John  xvi.  33)."  And  so  on,  through 
one  group  and  paragraph  after  another. 
"  Think  what  thou  hast  with  Christ  "  ;  "  Think 
what  thou  hast  in  Christ "  ;  "  Think  what 
thou  art  in  Christ "  :  such  are  some  of  the 
titles  under  which  are  grouped  the   words  of 


1 66  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

hope,  and  strength,  and  great  salvation.  Then 
the  texts  of  inference  are  given  in  turn : 
"  Therefore — Abide  in  Christ  (John  xv.  4)  : 
Walk  in  Christ  (Col.  ii.  6) :  Speak  in  Christ 
(2  Cor.  ii.  17)  :  Work  in  Christ  (Rom.  xvi.  9)  : 
Occupy  for  Christ  (Luke  xix.  13) :  Rejoice 
in  Christ  (Phil.  iii.  3) :  Suffer  with  Christ 
(1  Pet.  iv.  1)  :  Wait  for  Christ  (1  Thess.  i.  10)  : 
Watch  for  Christ  (Matt.  xxiv.  42)."  So, 
with  a  group  of  promises  about  the  longed-for 
Coming  of  the  Lord,  and  a  few  lines  of  entreaty 
to  "  search  the  Scriptures  diligently  that  thou 
mayest  increase  in  the  knowledge  of  Christ," 
("feeding  thy  soul  in  the  Word,"  "being  filled 
with  the  Spirit,"  and  remembering  that  "  there 
is  no  knowledge  but  in  the  anointing,")  the 
paper  closes.1 

This  little  document  has  lately,  after  a  long 
mislaying,  been  in  my  use  again,  and  it  has 
been  a  "silent  comforter"  indeed,  with  the 
comfort  which  means  strength  for  our  exceeding 
weakness.      It   is  an  unpretending  little  thing 

1  I  believe  it  is  still  to  be  had,  on  application  to  the  Rev. 
J.  E.  Sampson,  Barrow  Cottage,  York.  But  my  copy  is 
several  years  old. 


"ISOLATED    TEXTS"  I 67 


in  its  form  ;  very  far  from  what  is  called 
scientific  ;  just  a  collection  of  isolated  Scripture 
texts,  intended  for  the  use  of  one  who  on  the 
one  hand  knows  himself  to  be  a  sinner,  and 
on  the  other  has  had  some  sight  of  a  Saviour, 
and  who  also  believes  simply  that  the  Bible 
is  the  Word  of  God. 

The  very  idea  of  the  "  isolated  text "  is  now 
in  some  quarters  deprecated,  if  not  condemned; 
because  of  what  is  undoubtedly  the  fact — that 
the  context  of  a  text  must  not  be  forgotten. 
So  this  paper,  "  Christ  is  All,"  will  certainly  not 
command  every  Christian    student's   approval. 
Yet  I  dare  to  say  that  it  has  been  to  me  like 
a  clear  voice  from  heaven,  at  a  time  of  no  small 
internal  exercise  and  trial  both  of  thought  and 
feeling.      Its   "isolated"  quotations,    I    cannot 
but  remember,  are  in  the  very  manner  of  our 
Lord  and    His   Apostles.1     And  just  because 
its  sole  purpose  is  to    set  forth  the  glory  of 
Jesus  Christ,  it  leads  us  with  sure  steps  over 
the  field  of  Scripture;  for   His  own  voice  on 
the  day  of  His  Resurrection  has  told  us  that 


1  The  New  Testament  is  really  full  of  illustrations  of  this. 


I  68  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

in  all  the  Scriptures  are  "  things  concerning 
Himself."  To  me,  called  as  I  am  by  duty  to 
studies  more  or  less  accurate,  and  sometimes 
to  the  painful  task  of  reading  some  work  on 
religion  which  while  as  able  as  possible  seems 
strangely  devoid  of  Jesus  Christ — this  little 
paper  has  spoken  with  a  sort  of  self-evidencing 
power,  as  it  brings  before  me  "  Jesus  only,  with 
myself."  It  is  a  message  to  the  very  heart  of 
life  from  the  very  heart  of  God ;  for  it  is  alto- 
gether a  presentation  of  the  Name  of  His  Son. 
It  takes  the  soul  up  to  a  region  far  above 
"the  strife  of  tongues,"  and  "the  pride  of 
man,"  and  the  speciousness  of  keen  but  super- 
ficial reasoning — to  a  place  where  it  is  possible 
to  "  abide  satisfied,"  "  quiet  from  the  fear  of 
evil." 

I  mention  this  incident  of  private  Christian 
experience  just  to  emphasize  the  message 
which,  if  I  read  it  aright,  St  Paul  carries  to 
us  in  this  Epistle,  and  very  particularly  in 
these  sections.  He  has  to  meet  "the  Colossian 
heresy."  And  he  meets  it  all  along,  all  round, 
and  all  through,  with  Jesus  Christ,  the  All- 
satisfying,    All-sufficient    Saviour    and    Lord. 


"JESUS    ONLY    WITH    OURSELVES"  1 69 

It  is  just  Himself;  nothing  else,  nothing  less. 
It  is  Christ,  glorious  and  personal ;  not  Christ 
as  a  mere  formula  for  certain  ideas,  but  the 
divine-human  Lord,  "  in  all  things  pre-eminent," 
in  nature,  in  grace,  in  the  Church,  in  the  soul ; 
for  pardon  through  His  Cross,  for  life  through 
His  Life,  for  glory  through  His  Appearing.  To 
have  Him  and  make  use  of  Him  is  peace,  and 
power,  and  purity.  To  do  without  Him  is 
impossible ;  it  is  death.  To  use  Him  only 
partially  is  perpetual  unrest  and  disappoint- 
ment. He  must  be  "  all  things  in  all  things  "  ; 
then  there  shall  be  a  great  calm  within,  and 
a  great  strength  and  great  holiness  with  it, 
and  at  last  an  "  appearing  with  Him  in  glory," 
to  crown  the  process,  and  give  it  its  develope- 
ment  for  ever. 

Even  so,  Lord  Jesus.  Be  nothing  short  of 
"  all  things  in  all  things "  to  us,  in  this  our 
Colossae  now,  wherever  it  is. 

The  Apostle  has  something  now  to  say  to 
them  about  "  Christian  liberty,"  in  connexion 
with  his  great  theme.  They  were  appealed 
to   by   the   new    propaganda    to    submit   to   a 


17°  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 


round  of  observances  on  Mosaic  lines.  They 
were  taught  that  in  order  to  be  saved,  certainly 
in  order  to  be  safe,  they  must  keep  the  ancient 
precepts  about  ceremonially  clean  and  unclean 
food,  and  about  allowed  and  forbidden  drinks. 
They  must  religiously  observe  the  festivals 
of  the  Law — yearly,  monthly,  weekly.  The 
Sabbath,  for  example,  must  be  regarded  in 
its  strictly  Jewish  aspect ;  not  as  God's  primeval 
gift  to  man,  but  as  His  token  of  covenant  with 
Israel.1  At  every  turn  of  life  they  must  be 
careful,  in  this  spirit,  not  to  "  handle,  taste, 
touch,"  this  thing  or  that  thing,  particularly 
in  the  way  of  food,  which  the  ?,01d  Law  (or 
in  some  cases  the  traditions  that  had  gathered 
around  it)  had  interdicted.  And  all  this  was 
with  the  hope  that,  this  series  of  denials,  and 
abstinences,  and  "  neglecting  of  the  body,"  would 
promote  its  sanctification,  and  bar  out  the 
cravings  of  "  the  flesh."  Moreover,  they  were 
told  much  of  angelic  powers,  and  of  the  duty 
of  giving  them  devotion,  arid  looking  for  their 
mediating  aid  as  a  path  to  God  ;   a   doctrine 

1  See  further  below,  p.  175. 


CHRISTIAN    LIBERTY  171 


which  would  surely  tend,  like  the  asceticism 
of  the  same  teachers,  to  keep  the  devotee 
away  from  a  full  and  happy  communion  with 
his  Redeemer  Himself.  All  this  St  Paul 
meets  with  a  strong  appeal  to  the  Colossians 
to  hold  fast  their  liberty,  and  not  to  allow 
themselves  to  be  "judged"  for  declining  to 
follow  any  guidance,  whatever  its  authority 
might  seem,  the  other  way. 

Only  let  us  observe,  before  we  approach 
the  translation  of  his  words,  what  was  his 
real  aim  in  them.  They  are  indeed  an  appeal 
for  "  Christian  liberty,"  as  earnest,  though  less 
impassioned,  as  his  appeal  to  the  Galatians 
"  not  to  be  entangled  again  with  the  yoke  of 
bondage."  But  let  us  note  well  that  the 
"  liberty  "  he  means  is  the  very  opposite  of 
licence,  and  has  nothing  in  the  world  akin 
to  the  miserable  individualism  whose  highest 
ambition  is  to  do  just  what  it  likes.  The  whole 
aim  of  St  Paul  is  for  the  fullest,  deepest,  and 
most  watchful  holiness.  He  wants  his  Colossian 
converts  above  all  things  to  be  holy;  that  is, 
to  live  a  life  yielded  all  through  to  their 
Redeemer,    who    is    also    their    Master.       He 


1^2  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

wants  them  really  to  deny  "  the  indulgence 
of  the  flesh."  He  wants  them  to  live  not  as 
their  own  but  as  the  living  limbs  of  Christ 
their  Head — a  life  very  far  indeed  from  a 
self-pleasing  and  self-ordered  one.  His  desire 
for  them  is  not  that  they  shall  assert  themselves 
against  these  alien  emissaries,  and  trumpet 
forth  their  independence  for  their  own  sakes ; 
"  we  were  never  in  bondage  to  any  man." 
He  longs  for  them  that  they  shall  assert  their 
Lord  as  their  all,  first  to  their  own  souls, 
then  to  any  who  would  rob  them  of  Him, 
and  Him  of  them.  He  knows  perfectly  well 
that  the  prescriptions  of  the  Judaists  (his  own 
experience  is  conclusive  for  this)  will  never 
make  men  really  holy,  for  they  will  never 
make  them  happy  and  at  rest  in  God.  So 
he  bids  them  resist  this  message  and  these 
claims,  not  for  the  sake  of  human  rights, 
(momentous  things  in  their  place,  but  not  in 
point  here,)  but  for  the  sake  of  Christ's  rights, 
and  of  that  blessed  bondage  to  Him  which 
alone  is  perfect  freedom.1 

1  Cut  servire  est  regnare :  the  Latin  original  (cent,  v.)  of 
the  phrase  in  the  English  daily  Collect  "  for  Peace." 


LIBERTY    AND    ALLEGIANCE  1 73 

Let  us  see  well  to  it  that  such  is  our  aim 
too  in  any  resistance  we  may  ever  be  called 
to  oppose  to  any  form  of  "spiritual  despotism." 
Why,  in  the  last  resort,  do  we  resist  ?  Because 
of  the  dignity  of  manhood  ?  That  is  a  great 
thing,  rightly  understood.  But  the  one  fully 
true  answer  must  be,  Because  of  the  rights  of 
Jesus  Christ  over  me,  so  that  nothing  must  be 
allowed  to  cross  and  hinder  my  immediate 
contact  with  Him,  for  life,  holiness,  and 
service.  Such  a  motive  will  make  the  asser- 
tion of  "  liberty  "  an  act  of  allegiance,  and  will 
govern  and  chasten  its  whole  character.  From 
the  point  of  view  of  the  assertor,  it  will  save 
him  from  the  mischief  of  a  really  self-willed 
attitude.  From  the  point  of  view  of  the 
testimony,  it  will  save  it  from  the  weakness 
and  coldness  of  a  mere  negative  :  it  will  elevate 
it  into  the  assertion  of  a  glorious  positive — 
Christ  is  All.1 

1  It  is  too  often  assumed  that  the  great  word  "  Protest- 
antism "  carries  "the  weakness  and  coldness  of  a  mere 
negative."  It  may  be  only  too  much  so  when  it  is  misrepre- 
sented in  word  and  spirit  by  some  who  bear  the  name 
Protestant.  But  historically  it  is  a  word  full  of  the  noblest 
positive  elements.     The  great  Protestatio  of  1529,  at  Speyer, 


174  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

Now  we  may  resume  our  translation  : 

Ver.  16.  Do  not  therefore,  in  view  of  such  a  position 
as  we  hold  in  our  sacrificed  and  victorious  Saviour, 
do  not  let  any  one  judge  you,  take  you  to  task, 
make  you  feel  wrong  and  in  disgrace  if  you  do  not 
obey  him,  in  eating,  or  in  drinking ;  forbidding  you 
this  or  that  sort  of  food  on  ceremonial  grounds * ; 
or  with  regard  to  (eV  fjuepei  :  "  in  the  class  of")  'Feast 
Day,  the  yearly  festivals  of  the  Law,  as  Passover 
and  Tabernacles,  or  New  Moon,  the  monthly  festival, 
when  of  old  the  trumpet  was  blown,  and  the  offer- 
ings  offered   (Num.  x.    10),   or   Sabbath,  the   weekly 

Ver.  17.     festival  in  its  Jewish  aspect2;  which  insti- 

was  a  calm  and  truly  Christian  assertion  of  the  positive  fact 
that  God  bids  all  His  people  seek  His  will  in  His  holy  Word. 

1  It  is  almost  needless  to  point  out  that  such  a  practice 
as  that  of  "total  abstinence"  from  strong  drinks,  either  for 
our  own  safety  or  for  example  to  the  tempted,  is  a  matter 
remote  from  the  connexion  here.  Very  probably  the  new 
teachers  at  Colossae  did  prohibit  wine  (as  it  was  prohibited 
to  the  Nazirite  in  the  Mosaic  Law).  But  this  would  be 
on  strictly  ceremonial,  not  philanthropic,  grounds.  St  Paul 
himself  could  say  (and  in  an  Epistle  where  he  also  strongly 
asserts  "liberty,"  1  Cor.  x.  29)  that  if  such  or  such  a  kind  of 
food  "stumbled  his  brother,"  really  causing  the  man  to 
violate  his  conscience,  he  would  "  eat  no  flesh  for  ever  (els 
t6v  alava)"  (1  Cor.  viii.  13).  The  man  who  "totally  abstains" 
for  the  sake  of  others  takes  that  ground.  And  in  the  present 
state  of  our  country  I,  for  one,  think  that  he  rightly  takes  it. 

*  "The  original,   o-a/3|3ar«,   is  a  Greek  plural  in  form,  but 


THE    SABBATH  I  75 


tutions  are  indeed f  a  shadow  of  the  coming  things,  the 
things  which  were  once  in  the  future,  the  things  of  the 
Gospel,  foretold  by  prophets  and  outlined  by  insti- 
tutions— as  a  shadow  is   cast  by  a  solid,  and  in   a 

only  as  it  were  by  accident.  It  is  a  transliteration  of  the 
Aramaic  shabbdthd  (Hebrew,  shabbdth). 

"It  is  plain  from  the  argument  that  the  Sabbath  is  here 
regarded  not  as  it  was  primevally  (Gen.  ii.  3),  '  made  for  man ' 
(Mark  ii.  2j),  God's  benignant  gift,  fenced  with  precept  and 
prohibition  only  for  His  creature's  bodily  and  spiritual  benefit ; 
but  as  it  was  adopted  to  be  a  symbolic  institution  of  the 
Mosaic  covenant,  and  expressly  adapted  to  the  relation 
between  God  and  Israel  (Exod.  xxxi.  12-17);  an  aspect  of 
the  Sabbath  which  governs  much  of  the  language  of  the 
Old  Testament  about  it.  In  that  respect  the  Sabbath  was 
abrogated,  just  as  the  sacrifices  were  abrogated,  and  the 
New  Israelite  enters  upon  the  spiritual  realities  fore- 
shadowed by  it,  as  by  them.  The  Colossian  Christian  who 
declined  the  ceremonial  observance  of  the  Sabbath  in  this 
respect  was  right.  An  altogether  different  question  arises 
when  the  Christian  is  asked  to  '  secularize '  the  weekly  Rest 
which  descends  to  us  from  the  days  of  Paradise,  and  which 
is  as  vitally  necessary  as  ever  for  man's  physical  and  spiritual 
wellbeing"  (Note  in  The  Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools,  etc.). 

We  may  add  that  it  is,  if  possible,  more  necessary  than 
ever,  in  these  days  of  extraordinary  high-pressure  upon 
human  life.  "The  Sunday  superstition,"  as  some  are  pleased 
to  call  it,  is  in  reality  the  strong  tradition  of  reverence  for  a 
precious  gift  of  God,  old  as  the  race,  and  capable  of  ever- 
growing developements  of  benefit. 

1  "A  eon  :  iari  is  very  slightly  emphatic  by  position  ;  I  have 
represented  this  by  "  indeed."  He  means  to  acknowledge 
in  passing  the  real  place  and  value  of  the  Festivals  as 
"  shadows." 


176  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

measure  indicates  its  shape —  ;  but  the  body  is  Christ's ; 
the  Reality  which  projected  the  shadow  is  His,  for  it 
is  in  fact  Himself,  in  His  redeeming  work  and  glory. 
"  His  atoning  Sacrifice,  His  Gift  of  the  Spirit,  His 
Rest,  are  the  realities  to  which  the  old  institutions 
pointed."  If  you  have  Him,  you  have  in  that  respect 
got  beyond  them. 

Ver.  18.  Let  no  one  have  his  own  way  in  robbing 
you  of  your  prize,1  your  crown  of  life  and  joy  at  the 
Coming  of  the  Lord,  in  the  way  of  humility,  (the 
artificial  humility  of  the  trained  devotee,  a  self- 
abasement  before  unlawful  objects,  not  the  true 
humility  of  a  soul  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,)  and  worship 
of  angels,  the  unauthorized  cultus  of  those  who  are 


1  MqSels  Ifias  Kara^pa^evfTa  BeXav :  we  cannot  discuss  fully 
here  the  rendering  of  this  difficult  sentence.  Only  let  us 
observe  that  (a)  KaTaj3pafiev€Ta>  means  (by  usage)  simply  to 
frustrate  the  competitor  for  a  fipage'tov  or  prize  in  a  contest ;  it 
does  not  mean  to  decide  (Ppafcvs),  as  a  judge  or  umpire, 
against  the  competitor:  (b)  the  words  eV  rcmeivocppoo-vvr]  k.t.X., 
following  6e\ov,  may  be  construed  with  it;  the  rendering 
then  being,  "Let  no  one  rob  you  of  your  prize,  taking 
pleasure  in  humility"  etc.  (see  Lightfoot,  who  advocates 
this  rendering).  The  construction  is  supported  by  the  Sep- 
tuagint.  Yet  it  is  without  any  New  Testament  parallel,  and 
seems  to  us  less  likely  than  the  easier  rendering  adopted  in 
the  text  above.  According  to  this,  St  Paul  would  charge  his 
opponents  not  indeed  with  directly  wishing  to  rob  his  converts 
of  their  salvation,  but  with  a  purposeful  effort  to  controvert 
their  belief  of  truths  which  as  a  fact  were  saving. 


"  INVADING    THINGS    NOT    SEEN  "  1 7? 

but  the  Lord's  "  ministering  spirits  "  for  His  people's 
good l ;  invading  things,  regions,  which  he  has  not 
seen,'2  getting  inanely  inflated  ((frvaiovfievos,  present 
participle)  by  the  mere  mind  of  his  flesh,  the  uncon- 
secrated  exercise  of  thought  in  the  unregenerate 
state  ;  wandering  afar  in  speculations  and  imagina- 
tions which  have  not  God  but  man  for  origin,  and 
which  therefore  cannot  humble,  chasten,  hallow,  the 


1  Angel-worship  was  largely  developed  in  the  later  Judaism. 
— It  is  remarkable  that  the  Asiatic  Churches  seem  to  have 
been  early  and  widely  affected  by  it  in  sub-apostolic  times. — 
Quesnel,  the  saintly  Jansenist  (Roman  Catholic),  says  here, 
"Angels  will  always  win  the  day  over  Jesus  Christ  despised 
and  crucified,  if  the  choice  of  a  mediator  ...  is  left  to  the 
vanity  of  the  human  mind." 

2  Here  a  very  difficult  question  of  both  reading  and  render- 
ing presents  itself.  The  "received  text"  has  a  firj  iapaKtv 
ipfiaTevcov.  But  there  is  important  evidence  in  favour  of  the 
reading  a  eaipaaev  enftaTevav,  which  gives  of  course  the  just 
opposite  meaning.  In  the  first  case  the  teacher  efifiarevei 
what  he  has  not  seen  ;  dealing  presumptuously  with  mysteries 
of  the  unseen  and  eternal  as  if  he  knew  all  about  them.  In 
the  second  case  he  e^/3arevet  what  he  has  seen,  that  is, 
probably,  alleged  visions  and  revelations ;  things  which  he 
asserts  himself  to  have  "  seen,"  or  which  he  may  really  have 
"seen,"  but  under  the  influence  of  deluding  spirit-powers, 
alien  from  the  revelation  of  Christ.  On  the  whole,  while 
recognizing  the  difficulty  of  the  critical  question,  I  recom- 
mend the  retention  of  fir'/  and  the  first  alternative  rendering 
accordingly.     (See  Appendix  L  in  Colossians,  Camb.  Bible 

for  Schools,  etc.). — The  verb  e/x/Sareuet  may  mean,  by  context, 

12 


I  78  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

thinker,  but  can  only  inflate  him  in  his  own  esteem  ; 
Ver.  19.  and  not  holding  fast  (tcparwv),  in  his  faith 
and  in  his  teaching,  the  Head ;  the  blessed  Lord 
who  is  (i.  18)  "the  Head  of  the  body,  the  Church," 
in  all  things  pre-eminent,  vitally  and  for  ever 
necessary  to  His  followers  for  both  life  and  light ; 
out  of  whom1  the  whole  of  the  body,  (not  one  iota 
can  be  excepted,)  through  its  (jcav)  joints  and  liga- 
tures, through  the  coherence  of  each  "  member "  with 
the  vital  Head,'J  getting  supplied  and  getting  braced 
together,  grows  with  the  growth  of  God,  developes  a 
holiness  and  power  of  which  God  is  Source,  and 
Secret,  and  Environment  ;  "  nothing  between." 


either  to  inhabit  or  to  invade.  Retaining  fir]  e&paicev,  "in- 
vading" will  be  the  natural  rendering  of  ip^axexKov. — Some 
scholars  (as  Lightfoot)  suspect  a  corruption  of  the  text  in  this 
difficult  sentence,  and  would  read  depa  KeveyLfiarevuv,  "tread- 
ing an  airy  void"  ;  or  the  like.  But  the  reasons  for  suspicion 
do  not  seem  to  me.  conclusive. — See  Lightfoot  here,  and 
Westcott  and  Hort,  2V.T.  in  Greek,  ii.  127. 

1  'E£  ov  :  the  masculine  pronoun,  though  the  related  noun 
Kecpakij  is  feminine.  A  Person  is  in  question.  Cp.  the 
masculine  pronouns  eneivos,  os,  with  the  neuter  Uvevfia  in 
John  xiv.-xvi. 

2  Rather  (in  this  connexion)  than  with  each  other.  The 
whole  stress  of  the  imagery,  which  necessarily  outruns  the 
physical  conditions  of  the  human  body,  is  upon  our  immediate 
connexion  in  divine  life  with  Christ.  Thus  the  cxprj  and  the 
a-vvbea-pos  are  each  believer's  contact  with  and  bond  to  Him. — 
See  the  close  parallel  passage  Eph.  iv.  16. 


CHRIST    THE    SECRET    OF    PURITY  1 79 

Is  all  this  so  ?  Is  your  union  with  the  Lord 
so  close  and  so  pregnant  ?  Have  you  in  you 
a  secret  of  life  and  developement  which  is 
nothing  less  than  God  ?  Have  not  your  new 
teachers  manifestly  travelled,  and  sought  to 
lead  you,  to  a  lower  level,  and  to  a  remoter 
distance  from  that  blessed  Centre  ?  Then  be 
on  the  watch  against  all  that  they  would  teach 
as  their  distinctive  message.  They  profess  the 
power  to  show  you  a  way  to  purity  through  an 
elaborated  asceticism  and  its  rules.  But  in 
Christ  you  have  already  leapt  to  the  centre  of 
which  such  ideas,  at  best,  are  but  a  far-away 
circumference.  In  His  death  you,  joined  to 
Him,  died  too.  His  atonement  set  you  wholly 
free  from  sin's  condemning  claim.  And  the 
power  of  His  presence  as  the  Crucified  while 
Living  Lord  within  you  is  the  supreme  secret 
for  your  emancipation  from  sin's  hold  upon  the 
will.  Use  Him  against  "  the  flesh."  "  By  His 
Spirit  mortify  the  machinations  of  the  body  " 
(Rom.  viii.  13).  This  will  be  "victory  and 
law,"  when  lower  expedients  will  fly  in  the 
hour  of  temptation  like  dust  before  the  wind. 
So  he  proceeds : 


l8o  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

Ver.  20.  If,1  as  is  the  case,  (el  with  indicative,)  you 
died  with  Christ,  in  His  atoning  and  sin-condemning 
death  for  you,  from  the  rudiments,  the  elementary 
lessons,  of  the  world,  so  as  to  have  got  beyond  the 
preparatory  institutions  of  an  order  comparatively 
unspiritual,  why,  as  if  you  were  still  living,  finding 
your  true  life  (£wi/Te?),  in  the  world,  in  that  now 
obsolete  and  superseded  order,  do  you  give  yourselves 
to  ordinances  (Soy^ara),  seeking  salvation  in  a  round 
of  imposed  and  directed  practices,  in  a  discipline  of 
meat  and  drink  supposed  to  sanctify  the  soul  ? 
Why  do  you   seek  spiritual  life  in   the  watchword, 

Ver.  21.  Handle  thou  not,  nor  taste,  nor  even  touch 
the    thing     which     is    "  common     and    unclean "  ? J 

Ver.  22.  (Those  things  (a),  the  things  affected  by 
these  purely  ceremonial  prohibitions,  are  all  intended 
for  corruption,  the  corruption  of  consumption,  in  our 
(jfi)  use  of  them;  "all  meats"  (see  Mark  vii.  19, 
reading  KaOapi^wv)  are  now  given  by  the  Maker 
and  Master  for  His  servants'  natural  use.)  Such 
prohibitive  formulas  are  after  all  according  to,  on 
the  scale  and  level  of,  the  injunctions  and  teachings 
of  mere  men.  Yes,  even  such  of  them  as  once  had 
divine   sanction    have   it   now   no  more,  since   their 


1  Omit  ovv  from  the  Greek  text. 

2  Cp.  our  Lord's  own  words,  Matt.  xv.  1-20 ;  and  see  Acts 
x.  14,  15. 


"  AGAINST  THE  INDULGENCE  OF  THE  FLESH  "    I  8  I 

transitory  purpose  has  been  fulfilled  in  Christ.1 
Ver.  23.  Such-like  things  {anva),  principles  and  ex- 
pedients like  those  now  pressed  upon  you,  do  indeed 
possess  a  pretension  (\6yov  :  "  repute  "  without  reality) 
to  wisdom,  in  the  cultivation  of  will-worship,  a  de- 
voteeism  invented  and  elaborated  by  human  choice, 
and  humility,  of  that  plausible  but  spurious  sort 
denoted  just  above  (ver.  18),  and  unsparing  treatment 
of  the  body;  practices  which  look  at  first  sight  as  if 
they  must  be  cognate  to  a  true  victory  over  evil, 
but  which  all  the  while,  as  compared  with  our 
glorious  Secret,  are  not  of  any  value  against  the 
indulgence  of  the  flesh.2 

Here  is  the  envoi  of  the  intricate  and  preg- 
nant paragraph.  Below  it  all  has  run  the 
urgent  moral  problem,  How  shall  I  meet  and 
conquer  the  indulgence  of  the  flesh  ?  No  mere 
abstract  question  is  in  view :  this  is  no  com- 
petition   of    theories   in   the   air.       The   most 

1  And  many  of  the  ascetic  rules  were  from  the  first  man- 
made  only.  See  the  closely  kindred  passages,  Matt.  xv.  9, 
Mark  vii.  7  ;  with  Isa.  xxix.  13,  to  which  they  refer  back. 

2  So  the  R.V.  translates  the  difficult  clause.  This  render- 
ing, and  this  alone,  seems  to  give  full  coherence  to  the 
passage.  It  was  suggested  long  ago  in  Conybeare  and 
Howson's  Life  and  Epistles  of  St  Paul.  Bishop  Lightfoot 
amply  proves  its  grammatical  lawfulness. 


I  82  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

awful  of  realities  was  before  St  Paul  and  the 
Colossians  ;  the  presence  of  sin,  the  power  of 
temptation,  the  mystery  of  our  moral  bondage 
in  the  Fall.      To    the   question  which  it  per- 
petually  put   at    Colossae,    and   which    it   puts 
to-day  and  here  to  my  readers  and  to  me,  the 
new  teachers  in  the  Asiatic  mission  (and  they 
have  always  had  successors  everywhere)  sought 
to  reply  by  a  process.      They  advocated  cere- 
monial precepts,  disciplined  devotions,  severities 
upon  the  body.     St  Paul  knew  well  what  they 
meant,  for  he  had  in  the  past  gone  far  beyond 
them  on  their  own  ground.      And  he  was  still 
as   sure  as  ever  that  we  are  called,  in  Christ, 
to  a  life  which  must   be  always  watchful   and 
always   self-controlled ;    the    exact    opposite  of 
a     self-seeking    independence.       But    he    had 
learnt,  in  the  light  of  the  Lord,  that  the  heart 
of  such    a   life    is    found    in    the   holy    liberty 
wherewith  Christ  has  made  us  free,  by  making 
us  one  with   Him.     The  man,   kept  awake  by 
grace  to  his  own  awful   weakness  and  to  the 
foes  that  beset  him,  will  indeed  not  only  pray 
but  watch.     But  he  will  do  so  as  one  whose 
secret    and    resource    of  moral    power    in    the 


WE    RETIRE    INTO   CHRIST  1 83 

watching  life  is  altogether  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord.  He  will  oppose  Him  to  the  enemy,  who 
seems  sometimes  all  but  omnipotent.  He  will 
draw  upon  his  Head  for  the  strength  and 
victory  which  shall  make  the  weak  "  limb  " 
able  to  "  do  great  acts."  He  will  retire  into 
Christ,  and  abide  there,  for  deliverance  and 
peace,  that  he  may  continually  serve  Him  in 
holy  purity  in  the  stress  of  real  life.  He  will 
remember  that  in  Christ  he  died,  in  Christ 
he  lives.  And  his  life  now,  yea,  in  this  formid- 
able "  flesh,"  will  be  lived  in  peace  and  power 
on  the  ascetic  principle  of  heaven — "by  faith 
in  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me,  and  gave 
Himself  for  me." 


Thou  to  us,  O  Christ,  art  given 
Force  and  freedom  still  to  be; 

Let  us  ante-date  our  heaven 
Evermore  by  trusting  Thee; 

Thee  opposing 
Always  to  our  enemy. 


j84 


THE    ROOT  AND    FRUIT   OF  HOLINESS 


?85 


Go  up,  reluctant  heart, 

Take  up  thy  rest  above; 
Arise,  earth-clinging  thoughts  ; 

Ascend,  my  lingering  love. 

Bonar. 

Looking    up    for   the    Spirit    through    Jesus   Christ    is   the   only 
effectual  attitude  for  obtaining  love  to  God. 

Chalmers. 


1 86 


CHAPTER   IX 

THE    ROOT    AND    FRUIT    OF    HOLINESS 
Colossians  iii.  1-7 

Ver.  1.  If  therefore,  since  therefore  (el  with  the 
indicative  verb),  you  did  rise  along  with  our  (tg>) 
Christ,  in  that  resurrection  of  which  your  baptismal 
emersion  (ii.  12,  20)  was  the  pledge  and  seal,  a 
resurrection  which  meant  at  once  your  state  of 
acceptance  for  His  death's  sake  and  your  share  in 
the  power  of  His  endless  life,  be  seeking  now  the 
things  above,  the  things  on  high,  where  our  (6)  Christ 
is,  at  the  right  hand  of  our  (rod)  God  seated ;  enthroned 
with   Him,  as  at   once  your   Intercessor,  Head,  and 

Ver.  2.  King.  On  the  things  above  set  your  mind, 
the  bent  and  tendency  (^povrjfia)  of  your  thought 
and  will,  not  on  the  things  upon  the  earth,  whether 
they  be  earthly  gain  or  glory,  or  earthly  expedients 

Ver.  3.  for  moral  strength  and  victory.  For  you 
did  die,  when  the  Lord  died  for  you,  and  when  you, 
coming  to  Him,  identified  yourselves  with  Him  in 
His   death.      Then   did   you,   in    Him,   die    to    sin's 

187 


I  88  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

condemning  claim,  and  so  find  the  secret,  in   Him, 
of  a  "death"  to  sin's  allurements  and  sin's  tyrannies 
alike  ;  looking  down  on  them  all  as  from  the  Cross 
to  which  sin  nailed  your  Lord,  and  where  He  cast 
its  load  away  from  you  for  ever.     And  that  death, 
because   it  was  "  with  Christ,"  in   union  with   Him, 
was  followed  of  course  by  life,  by  resurrection,  by 
part   and   lot   in   His   own   immortal  and  victorious 
state  as  the  Risen  One  ;  you  died,  and  your  life  lies 
hidden,  stored,  safe-guarded,  once  placed  there,  secure 
for  ever,  with  our  (r&5)  Christ  in  our  (rw)  God.     There 
it  lies,  and  there  it  lives  ;  and  so  if  you  would  live 
it  out,  using  this  wonderful  life-power  for   spiritual 
triumph   and    service   here   on    earth,   you    must   go 
evermore  to  find  it  there  ;  you  must  "  seek  "  it  ;  you 
must    "  with    Him    continually   dwell,"    in    steadfast 
recollection,    simplest   reliance,   and   ceaseless   secret 
reception    of    the    divine    supply.      And   remember 
meanwhile  that   all   this  present  process  is  working 
towards  a  mighty  issue,  which  is  meant  to  animate 
Ver.  4.     to-day  your,  every  thought  and  effort :  when 
our  (o)  Christ  shall  be  manifested,  disclosed  ((f>avepa)deL<;), 
at  His  glorious  Return,  in  all  the  splendour  of  what 
He   is,  this  Christ  who   is  our1   Life,  then   you   also 
with  Him  shall  be  manifested  in  glory.     All  that  He 
was  in  you  shall  burst  from  its  bud  into  the  fulness 

1  He  has  just  said  "your  life  "  ;  now  he  "  hastens  to  include 
himself  among  the  recipients  of  the  bounty  "  (Ligbtfoot). 


A  GOLDEN  PARAGRAPH  1 89 

of  its  eternal  flower  ;  it  shall  be  seen  what  such  a 
Head  has  been  doing  all  along  for  His  members, 
as  He  gave  Himself  to  them  in  their  life  of  need 
and  of  faith.  You  shall  be  manifested  with  Him, 
He  shall  be  manifested  in  you.  Then  see  that  you 
use  Him  as  your  life  to-day,  in  the  uplifting  hope 
of  such  a  to-morrow.  "  When  He  shall  appear,  we 
shall  be  like  Him  ;  for  we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is. 
And  every  man  that  hath  this  hope  in  Him  purifieth 
himself,  even  as  He  is  pure  "  (1  John  iii.  2,  3). 

This  is  one  of  the  golden  paragraphs  of  the 
whole  Bible.  To  countless  hearts  it  is  one  of 
their  peculiar  treasures.  There  is  a  celestial 
music  for  them  in  its  very  phrase  and  rhythm. 
It  lifts  the  soul  as  with  wings,  till  we  get  a 
glimpse  of  that  exalted  One  sitting  throned 
after  death  at  the  Right  Hand  of  power,  and 
in  some  sense  realize  that  where  He  is  we  His 
people  are,  as  to  the  true  heart  and  basis  of 
our  regenerate  being,  and  know  that  that  basis 
is  nothing  less  nor  lower  than  Himself,  and 
stand  upon  that  fact,  and  look  out  from  it 
towards  the  coming  glory,  and  turn  to  a 
renewed  and  joyful  walk  here,  "  in  this  present 
world,"  by  faith  in  the  Son  of  God. 


190  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

It  is  a  passage  memorable  for  its  messages 
to  servants  of  God.  Stevenson  Arthur  Black- 
wood, of  ever  bright  and  blessed  memory, 
always  referred  to  the  words,  "  Your  life  is 
hid  with  Christ  in  God"  as  the  means  of  his 
conversion.  William  Pennefather,  in  the  church 
at  Barnet,  gave  out  these  lines  of  Newton's 
Hymn,  ("  Rejoice,  believer,  in  the  Lord,") — 

"Your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God 
Beyond  the  reach  of  harm  ;  "  ,. 

and  the  Spirit  brought  them  home  to  the 
asking  heart  in  a  final  crisis  of  glad  assurance. 
Who  does  not  know  that  fear  often  lies  near 
great  joy,  and  that  a  treasure  may  seem  far  too 
precious  to  be  safe  ?  But  here,  he  felt,  was  a 
safety  equal  to  the  treasure  ;  "  with  Christ  in 
God,"  a  double  rampart,  all  divine. 

A  beloved  and  honoured  friend  of  my  own, 
now  doing  a  great  work  for  God,  (and  may  it 
be  continued  into  distant  years,  if  our  Master 
tarry  yet,)  has  told  me  how,  early  in  his  course, 
those  five  words,  "  Christy  who  is  our  life"  were 
made  a  new  world  to  him.  As  he  walked  back 
to  his  home  over  the  dark  fields  from  a  mission- 
service  he  had  been  conducting,  these  simple, 


THE    PURPOSE    OF    THE    PARAGRAPH  191 

these  familiar  words  passed  through  his  soul  in 
one  of  those  moments  of  insight  which  God 
alone  can  explain.  "Within  ten  paces,  as  I 
walked,  life  was  transformed  to  me,"  he  said ; 
so  wonderful  was  the  discovery  that  the  Lord 
Christ  is  not  merely  Rescuer,  Friend,  King, 
but  Life  itself,  Life  central,  inexhaustible, 
"  springing  up  within  my  heart,  rising  to 
eternity." 

For  us  too,  writer  and  reader,  may  the 
paragraph  bring  its  moments  of  insight  into 
the  full  glory  of  grace  and  the  full  assurance 
of  the  hope  of  glory. 

Meantime  let  us  not  forget  that  the  whole 
paragraph  is  written  with  a  certain  purpose. 
It  comes  to  us  in  organic  connexion  with  the 
close  of  the  previous  chapter  ;  and  we  remember 
in  what  direction  that  passage  ran.  It  was 
altogether  upon  the  problem,  how  to  be  holy, 
how  to  deal  with  "  the  gratification  of  the  flesh," 
and  to  live  a  life  pure  and  victorious,  worthy 
of  the  child  of  God.  This  is  full  in  view  here 
Accordingly  we  remember  that  all  St  Paul  says 
here  of  mysteries  and  glories,  all  his  presentation 


192  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

of  our  death  and  our  resurrection  with  Christ, 
and  of  our  eternal  life  hidden  with  Him,  and 
our  coming  manifestation  in  the  endless  bliss, 
is  matter  as  practical  as  possible.  It  all  means 
an  answer  to  the  question,  "  How  shall  I  deal 
with  the  gratification  of  the  flesh  ?  " 

So  viewed,  the  passage  loses  nothing  of  its 
exaltation    and    charm    of    thought.       But    it 
becomes    as  different  as  possible  from  a  mere 
golden  reverie,  in  which  the  man  attempts  to 
escape  from  realities   into  the  evening  clouds, 
or  tries  to  take  a  sort  of  opiate  against  earth's 
trials  and  temptations,  compounded  of  imagina- 
tions of  heaven.     The  verses   are  a   chain    of 
God's  indissoluble  facts,  for  the  Christian's  use 
amidst  the  formidable  facts  of  the    devil,   the 
world,    and  the  flesh.       It  is    in   order  to  his 
walking   at   liberty,     in    holy   purity,    in    holy 
love,  that  he  is  (not  to  imagine,  but)  to  recollect 
that  because   Christ  died,   he  died,   and    is    in 
that  sense  dead  ;  dead  to  sin's   doom,  and  to 
sin's    dominion,    in    his   crucified    Lord.     It  is 
for  practical  holiness,  for  the  life  of  open  eyes 
and  conquering  hands  in  the  way  of  righteous- 
ness, that  he  is  (not  to  imagine,  or  "  feel,"  but) 


WHAT    ARE    "THE    THINGS    ABOVE"?         1 93 

to  recollect — for  it  is  fact — that  because  Christ 
rose,  he  is  risen,  and  has  within  him  the  very 
"  power    of    the    resurrection "    of  his    Head. 
He  is  to   "seek  the   things  above"   with   the 
most  practical  intentions.    He  is  to  "  seek  "  them 
— as  the  needle   "seeks"  the  pole — with    the 
"  search  "  of  earnest  thought  and  expectant  faith, 
not  as  things  only  whose  hope  may  cheer  his 
faint  steps  onward,  but  as  things  whose  present 
power  is  to   make  his  steps   sure  and   strong. 
For  what  are  those  things  above  ?     The  throne 
of  all  love  and  power  ;  the  Saviour  seated  on 
it,   triumphant    for   His    follower,    and    faithful 
to  him;   and   the  life   hid  there   with   Him   in 
God ;    yea,     He    who    is    Himself   the    Life. 
Sure  of  his  own   death   with    Christ,   and  his 
new   life  with   Christ,    in  a  union  with   which 
heights  and  depths  of  distance  have  absolutely 
nothing  to  do,  he  is  to  be  always,  at  the  back 
of  everything,  there — where    Christ,  his  Lite, 
is     seated  ;    where    his    true    life     is     "  hid," 
hidden,  yet  so  as  to  be  always  as  truly  in  the 
limb    on    earth    as    in    the    Head    in    heaven. 
And    as    he  looks  forward  to  the  "glory  that 
shall  be  revealed   in  us,"  it    is  to  be  with  the 

13 


194  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

same  object,  sure  and  certain,  even  a  present 
holiness.  He  is  to  use  the  power  he  has,  in 
having  the  crucified  and  glorified  Christ  for 
his  Life,  all  the  more  confidently  and  promptly 
because  of  its  foretold  developement — "  with 
Him  in  glory." 

Here  is  St  Paul's  programme,  his  prescrip- 
tion, for  the  blessed  life,  the  transfigured  life, 
at  Colossse.  Live  in  heaven,  that  you  may 
really  live  on  earth.  Live  in  heaven,  'not  in 
the  sense  of  the  poet  but  in  that  of  the  believer. 
Live  in  recollecting  and  conscious  union  with 
Him  who  is  there,  but  who  is  at  the  same  time 
in  you,  your  Life.  Live  in  the  continual 
confession  to  your  own  souls  that  you  died  in 
His  death,  and  live  in  His  life,  and  are  with 
Him — by  the  law  of  union — on  His  throne  ; 
and  then  bring  this  to  bear  upon,  the  tempta- 
tions of  your  path.  Use  these  things.  Take 
them  as  facts  into  life,  exactly  as  life  is  for 
you  to-day.  You  shall  find  that  in  them,  that 
is  to  say,  in  Him,  you  can  be  holy.  You  can 
walk  at  perfect  liberty,  and  you  can  walk  (with 
the  same  steps)  in  perpetual  and  delightful 
service. 


JUDAISM    CANNOT    SANCTIFY  1 95 

"  Touch  not,  taste  not,  handle  not.  Do 
not  forget  the  new  moon  ;  be  careful  over 
the  ritual  of  circumcision,  and  its  obligations  ; 
invoke  religiously  your  guardian-angel  ;  in 
brief,  be  the  punctual  devotee."  Such  was  the 
prescription  of  the  Judaistic  teacher,  "  with  a 
view  to  dealing  with  the  gratification  of  the 
flesh."  And  many  tried  it.  But  in  the  depth 
of  the  heart  they  found  it  "  not  of  any  value." 
Perhaps  it  gave  some  of  them  the  poor  and 
dreary  boon  of  a  restless  sort  of  self-satisfaction, 
always  suspicious  of  itself,  and  the  more 
suspicious  in  proportion  to  the  man's  depth 
and  sincerity.  It  hardened  many  of  them 
perhaps  into  the  miserable  attitude  of  a  proud 
rigorism  ;  they  looked  with  contempt,  avowed 
or  not,  upon  souls  and  lives  supposed  to  be 
weaker  and  more  lax.  But  one  thing  assuredly 
it  did  not  do,  for  it  could  not  ;  it  did  not  make 
the  votary  holy.  It  did  not  cleanse  the  "  first 
springs  of  thought  and  will."  It  did  not 
produce  the  fruit  of  Paradise,  "  love,  joy,  peace, 
longsuffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  fidelity, 
meekness,  temperance"  (Gal.  v.  22,  23),  at  the 
centre  of  the  soul,  so  as  to  fill  the  circumference 


196  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

of  the  life.  It  did  not  make  the  Christian 
utterly  distrust  himself,  yet  habitually  overcome 
his  mighty  enemies.  It  did  not  teach  him  how 
(Phil.  iii.  3)  to  "  worship  God  in  the  Spirit, 
and  rejoice  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  have  no 
confidence  in  the  flesh."  It  did  not  make  him 
at  once  supernaturally  sweet,  and  supernaturally 
strong.  For  the  secret  of  this  lies  not  among 
"  the  things  on  the  earth,"  the  methods  of  a 
man-devised  asceticism  and  ceremonial.  'It  lies 
deep  among  "  the  things  above,  where  Christ 
is,  sitting  on  the  right  hand  of  God." 

Let  our  programme  be  that  of  St  Paul,  for 
his  is  that  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Our  aim,  our 
longing,  our  hunger  and  thirst,  is  for  a  holiness 
which  shall  indeed  be  real,  real  before  God  in 
its  root,  and  real  before  man  in  its  fruit.  We 
seek  a  holiness  which  shall  win  the  world  to  own 
that  Christ  can  make  a  poor  human  life  blessed 
and  fruitful,  loving,  cheering,  useful,  humble, 
tender,  while  yet  strangely  strong,  with  a 
power  not  its  own,  to  rebuke  the  evil  which 
it  meets.  We  want  to  be  holy  in  a  way  which 
shall  never  glorify  ourselves,  but  always  our 
Master.     We  want   to    have    "  a   heart "    that 


SURSUM    CORDA  I  97 


does  "  not  condemn  us"  (i  John  iii.  21);  not 
the  delusion  of  a  supposed  sinlessness,  but  the 
happy,  honest  certainty  that  the  central  and 
steadfast  desire  and  choice  is  to  please  Him,  to 
do  His  dear  will.  Then  let  us  go  up,  to  fetch 
our  secret  down.  Sursum  corda.  Believer, 
your  talisman  for  that  life,  the  only  "  life 
worth  living,"  is  in  the  heaven  of  heavens.  It 
is  seated  on  the  right  hand  of  God.  It  is — 
"  Christ  which  is  your  Life."  It  is  He,  as 
He  died  for  you,  as  He  lives  for  you,  as  He 
lives  in  you,  as  you  live  in  Him,  as  He  is 
coming  for  you,  as  you  are  going  to  be  glorified 
with  Him.  "Seek  Him,"  with  the  seeking 
which  is  also  a  perpetual  finding  ;  and  use 
Him  as  He  is  so  found  ;  and  you  shall  have 
your  desire. 

And  now,  as  if  to  keep  us  close  to  the 
thought  of  the  practical,  St  Paul  goes  on, 
dealing  in  a  way  as  explicit  as  possible  with 
the  sins  from  which  Christ  is  able  altogether 
to  deliver  us.  Let  us  follow  him,  step  by 
step ;  carrying  with  us,  all  along,  "  the  things 
which    are    above."       So    shall    we    read    to 


198  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

blessed    purpose,    and    not    merely    to    assent, 
to  regret,  and  to  despond. 

Ver.  5.  Give  to  death  therefore  your  limbs  which  are 
upon  the  earth  ;  "  your  limbs,"  your  body  in  its 
details,  viewed  as  the  peculiar  avenue  and  seat  of 
temptation  through  the  passions  ;  "  upon  the  earth," 
as  contrasted  with  that  Secret  for  victory  and  liberty 
which,  as  we  have  just  seen,  is  found  among  "  the 
things  above."  And  then  by  a  rapid  step  of  thought 
he  describes  the  "  limbs "  in  terms  of  their  sinful 
functions,  the  transgressions  which  are  peculiarly  and 
distinctively  corporeal  in  their  conditions.  Fornica- 
tion, impurity,  passion,  fierce  sensual  craving,  evil 
desire,  (for  "  desire,"  eiriflvfila,  may  be  pure  and  holy 
as  well  as  "  evil,")  and    carnal   greed,1    for  it   is  (77x15 


1  nXf ovt^'ta  :  "Lightfoot  here  sees  a  reference  to  covetous- 
ness  in  its  ordinary  sense  ;  '  the  covetous  man  sets  up  another 
object  of  worship  besides  God.'  And  he  shews  clearly  that 
the  Greek  word  never,  of  itself,  denotes  sensual  lust.  But 
compare  this  passage  .with  Eph.  iv.  19,  ['  to  work  all  unclean- 
ness  with  greediness,'  fiera  ir\cove£ias,']  v.  3,  5,  ['  fornication, 
and  all  uncleanness,  or  covetousness,'  7rXeoi/e£i'a,]  1  Cor.  v.  11, 
['a  fornicator,  or  covetous,']  1  Thess.  iv.  5,  6,  ['not  in  the 
lust  of  concupiscence  .  .  .  that  no  man  .  .  .  defraud,  TrXeoye/creli', 
his  brother  in  the  (rw)  matter'  in  hand,]  and  it  will  appear 
that  the  word  at  least  lends  itself  to  a  connexion  with  sensual 
ideas  "  (Note  here  in  The  Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools,  etc.). 
— The  "idolatry"  in  such  a  case  is  a  sensuous  admiration 
easily  developed  into  still  grosser  thoughts  and  feelings. 


THE    WRATH    COMING  I  99 

Ver.  6.  iarlv)  idolatry ;  on  account  of  which  things 
the  wrath  of  God,  the  personal  moral  indignation 
of  the  Holy  One,  no  figure  of  speech,  no  mere 
formula  for  processes  of  unconscious  cause  and 
effect,  is  coming,  is  already  on  its  way,  heralded  by 
His  warnings,  till  in  the  great  crisis  it  shall  fall 
upon  the  sons  of  disobedience,1  the  human  allies  and 
followers  of  Rebellion  against  God's  will  of  Holiness. 
And  let  the  remembrance  of  your  own  past  fill  you 
not  with  the  Pharisee's  scorn  of  the  "  rebels  "  around 
you,  but  with  wondering  gratitude  and  godly  fear ; 

Ver.  7.  for  these  transgressions  are  things  in  which 
you  too  walked,  acted,  behaved,  formed  character, 
once,  when  you  had  your  life  in  these  things  (ev 
tovtois)  :  e'^re,  not  merely  "  lived  "  in  the  sense  of 
"  existed,"  but  "  had  your  life  "  in  the  sense  of 
interest,  motive,  congenial  atmosphere.  When  such 
ideas  were  your  native  air,  you  shewed  it  in  the 
complexion  of  your  conduct. 

Let  us  pause  here  for  the  present.  In 
another  chapter  we  will  take  up  the  closely 
connected  passage  following. 

Observe  this  glorious  paradox,    the  placing 

1  Some  important  documents  omit  these  last  words;  Light- 
foot  thinks  that  they  are  probably  an  insertion  from  the  closely 
parallel  passage,  Eph.  v.  6.     But  R.V.  retains  them. 


200  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

close  together,  and  in  the  most  living  con- 
nexion, of  the  two  paragraphs  we  have  just 
now  translated.  The  first  has  taken  us  to  the 
throne,  to  the  ascended  Lord,  to  the  hidden 
life,  the  life  hidden  indeed,  stored  and  treasured 
with  the  Son  in  the  Father.  The  second  takes 
us  at  one  step  into  "  the  world  which  lieth  in 
the  wicked  one"  (i  John  v.  19).  It  places  us 
in  thought  not  merely  in  the  presence  of  sin, 
but  in  the  presence  of  such  sins — the  crudest, 
the  most  outrageous,  the  most  defiant  and 
overmastering  forms  of  evil.  Here  are  things 
so  strong  in  their  grasp  upon  our  fallen  race 
that  alas  even  in  the  fullest  light  of  Christendom 
legislation  dares  not  go  all  lengths  in  punishing 
them  as  crime ;  the  thief  must  suffer  where  the 
fornicator  may  practically  go  his  way.  And 
who  shall  estimate  the  dreadful  power  of 
these  serpents  and  scorpions  in  that  old  and 
effete  world  at  Phrygian  Colossae  ?  There  the 
soft  climate  of  the  Levant  combined  with 
generations  of  political  death  and  social  inertia 
to  foster  every  growth  of  moral  weeds  ;  and 
there  was  no  tradition  of  Christianity,  however 
distant  and  defective,  to  hold  sin  in  that  sort 


THE    MIRACLE    OF    SANCTIFICATION  201 

of  check  which  our  Christian  tradition  does 
apply,  feeble  as  it  too  often  is.  What  was  to 
happen  to  these  converts,  just  emerged  from 
the  fetid  swamps  ?  Were  they  to  be  nursed 
by  slow  degrees  into  some  approach  to  health  ? 
Should  they  be  educated  little  by  little  into 
small  improvements,  till  a  public  opinion  should 
arise  at  last  which  would  help  the  feeble  in- 
dividual ?  Not  so.  St  Paul  knows  "a  way 
more  excellent."  He  leads  them  straight  from 
the  fever-jungle  to  the  heaven  of  heavens 
for  the  secret  of  a  new  life.  God  has  worked 
in  them  the  miracle  of  the  first  step ;  they  have 
believed,  just  as  they  are,  in  Jesus.  And  none 
less  than  God  will  now  work  in  them  the 
miracle  of  that  wonderful  second  step,  the 
use  of  their  union  with  Christ  so  as  to  tread, 
in  their  utter  weakness,  but  in  His  Name, 
"  upon  serpents,  and  scorpions,  and  all  the 
power  of  the  enemy."  They  are  entrusted 
at  once  with  the  whole  secret,  the  inmost 
secret,  of  the  boundless  power  latent  in 
our  union  with  Christ  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 
They  are  called  upon  at  once  to  use  it, 
and    to   live    now,    henceforth,    in    a    humble, 


202  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 


holy,  glorious    deliverance  from  their  "tyrant 
lusts." 

That  secret  is  old  as  the  Apostles,  and  it 
is  modern  as  this  hour.  I  have  heard  of  a 
mission-station  on  the  Congo  where  a  noble 
standard  of  Christian  conduct  is  successfully 
maintained  by  the  missionaries,  among  the 
converts  so  lately  "walking  and  living"  in  the 
foulest  air  of  tropical  paganism.  And  their 
secret  is  the  inculcation  at  once  on  the  new 
Christian  of  the  deepest  principles  of  union 
with  Jesus  Christ.  The  man  who  has  three 
times  burst  into  anger  is  debarred  from  the 
Table  of  the  Lord ;  "  You  need  not  sin  so  ; 
you  have  the  whole  power  of  Christ  with  you 
and  in  you,  not  to  do  it."  1  And  just  the  same 
facts  of  grace  and  triumph  reach  us  from  the 
great  Victoria  Lake.  In  the  wonderful  work 
done  by  our  Lord  through  His  servants  in 
Uganda,  especially  during  the  last  four  years,2 
nothing    is    more  conspicuous    than  this,  "  the 


1  I  owe  this  fact  to  my  departed  friend  Mr  G.  Wilmot 
Brooke,  who  laid  his  life  down  for  Africa,  on  the  Niger,  at 
the  age  of  less  than  thirty ;   1891. 

2  This  sentence  was  written  in  1897. 


UGANDA    ILLUSTRATES    COLOSS/E  203 

demonstration  of  the  Spirit."  Our  time  has 
witnessed  there  the  transfiguration  of  a  host  of 
recently  heathen  lives  and  characters  into  fine 
specimens  of  Christian  holiness  and  stability  ; 
a  scene  worthy  of  the  morning-time  of  the 
Church  of  Pentecost.  And  how  ?  By  the 
method  of  taking  the  converts  as  promptly 
and  as  explicitly  as  possible  to  "the  things 
that  are  above  "  for  their  resource  and  strength 
in  the  midst  of  a  world  of  sin.  Union  with 
Christ  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  Christ  dwelling  in 
the  heart,  the  believer  dwelling  in  and  with 
his  glorified  Lord,  the  Spirit  in  His  fulness 
filling  the  life  with  the  living  Redeemer,  this 
has  been  the  missionary's  secret  for  himself, 
and  he  has  passed  it  on  without  reserve  to  his 
dusky  converts,  with  results  of  untold  blessing. 
No  method  could  be  more  apostolically 
orthodox.    It  is  exactly  the  method  of  Colossae. 

Drawing  to  a  conclusion,  let  us  notice  a 
point  or  two  in  detail  in  the  paragraph  last 
translated. 

i.  "  Give  to  death  therefore^  veKpcocrare  ovv. 
The  phrase  is  strong,  it  is  startling.     Here  is 


204  C0L0SSIAN    STUDIES 

no  precept  of  slow  amelioration.  Alike  the 
verb  and  its  form,  vtKpovv  and  its  aorist  tense, 
suggest  ideas  of  deliverance  as  entire  and  as 
prompt  and  critical  as  can  well  be.  Is  the 
Colossian  beset  by  sensual  lusts  to-day  ?  Has 
he  a  dreadful  inheritance  of  past  vile  habits 
upon  him,  and  all  the  old  temptations  around 
him  ?  But  has  he  come  to  Christ,  and  been 
joined  to  Him  ?  Then  here  and  now,  not  only 
to-morrow  and  somewhere  else,  Christ*"  is  his 
Life.  And  having  that  Power  within  him,  he 
can  say  here  and  now  to  the  threatening  but 
beaten  tyrant,  "I  set  my  foot  on  thy  neck,  in 
my  Lord's  Name ;  I  give  thee  to  death  this 
day."  And  Christ  the  Lord,  one  with  that 
man  in  the  union  of  the  Eternal  Spirit,  can 
so  deal  with  his  will  and  soul  that  not  only 
shall  the  enemy  be  repelled  ;  he .  shall  fall  as 
one  slain  at  the  door  where  he  tried  to  enter. 
He  shall  be  "given  to  death." 

Let  us  not  make  the  mistake  of  forgetting 
other  sides  of  truth.  Whatever  that  "  death  " 
means,  it  means  no  such  condition  as  that  the 
foe  may  not  instantly  revive  if  the  man  walks 
on  in   any   power   but   his    Lord's    for  liberty 


A    POWER    FOR    PRESENT    VICTORY  205 

and  victory.     Assuredly  it  does  not  mean  that 
the  man  ceases  to  be  a  sinner   in    the  sense 
of  having  no  longer  a  ceaseless   need  of  his 
Lord's  propitiation,  (for  at   least   his    "  falling 
short   of    God's    glory,")   and    of    his    Lord's 
presence  to  save  him  from  himself.     But  this 
it  does  mean,  that  in  Jesus   Christ,  One  with 
the   sinner  who  knows  and  trusts  Him,   there 
lies  quite  ready  a  power  by   which  the  oldest 
and  the  worst  temptation  may  be  laid  at  our 
feet  as  dead.     In  Him  it  is  possible   for   the 
drunkard  to  walk  past  the  horrid  door  of  the 
house  of  ruin,  loathing  it  instead  of  secretly 
craving  once  more   to   enter.       In    Him   it   is 
possible  for  the  slave  of  vice,  its  helpless  victim 
yesterday,   to    rejoice   to-day   with    the   whole 
choice  of  a  transformed  will  in  the  blessedness 
of  purity ;    condemning    himself  as    he    never 
did  before,    yet    rejoicing    in    the  undreamt-of 
entirety  of  his    deliverance.      The  deliverance 
would  be  "  too  good  to  be  true,"  if  its  secret 
were  not  among  "  the  things  above"  ;  if  Christ 
were  not  his  very  life. 

ii.   Lastly,  side  by  side  with  these  glorious 
calls  to  a  walk  so  pure,  strong,   and  happy  in 


206  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

the  Lord,  let  us  not  forget  the  faithful  warnings 
of  the  Apostle.  "For  which  things  sake  the 
wrath  of  God  is  coming  upon  the  sons  of  dis- 
obedience" In  our  day,  as  a  rule,  little,  very 
little,  is  said  in  Christian  preaching  about  the 
moral  wrath  of  God.  One  would  sometimes 
think  that  we  were  supposed  to  have  got  beyond 
it ;  that  fear,  even  such  a  profound  variety  of 
fear  as  the  creature's  shrinking  before  the 
indignation  of  infinite  personal  Holiness,  had 
ceased  to  count  among  human  motives:  It 
is  far  otherwise  as  a  fact.  And  it  is  certainly 
very  far  otherwise  in  Scripture.  Let  us  be 
true  to  our  one  sure  precedent,  His  Word. 
God  forbid  we  should  put  His  wrath  where 
He  never  puts  it — into  antagonism  with  His 
redeeming  love.  But  let  us  put  it,  humbly, 
tenderly,  where  He  does  put  it — on  its  way 
to  fall  upon  the  sons  of  disobedience. 


MORE    UPON  HOLINESS,  ITS    RULES 
AND    MOTIVES 


207 


Brethren,  call'd  by  one  vocation, 

Members  of  one  family, 
Heirs  through  Christ  of  one  salvation, 

Let  us  live  in  harmony ; 
Nor  by  strife  embitter  life,  » 

Journeying  to  eternity. 

Let  it  be  our  chief  endeavour 

That  we  may  the  Lord  obey; 
Then  shall  envy  cease  for  ever, 

And  all  hate  be  done  away  ; 
Free  from  strife  shall  be  his  life 

Who  serves  God  both  night  and  day. 

Massie,  from  the  German  of  Spitta. 


208 


N 


CHAPTER   X 

MORE    UPON    HOLINESS,    ITS    RULES    AND    MOTIVES 
Colossians  iii.  8-17 

"  /TT*HE  Christian  character  is  an  unsinning 
J.  character."  This  is  by  no  means  to 
say  that  the  man  who  is  a  Christian  is  an 
unsinning  person.  No,  "  if  he  says  he  has  no 
sin,  he  deceives  himself,  and  the  truth  is  not  in 
him"  (1  John  i.  8).  But  then,  when  he  sins, 
he  is  out  of  character  as  a  Christian.  It  is 
immensely  important  that  he  should  remember 
this.  Rightly  remembered,  it  will  both  humble 
him  and  encourage  him,  with  divine  results. 

I  have  no  intention  here  of  discussing  a  deep 
mystery.  I  wish  only  to  point  to  great  facts 
of  the  experience  of  the  soul,  and  in  this  case 
to  facts  which,  as  so  often,  have  to  be  taken 
each  as  true  and  vital,  whether  we  can  mentally 
reconcile  them  or  not.      It   is  a  fact  that   if  I 

2°9  14 


210  C0L0SSIAN    STUDIES 

assert  myself  to  have  no  sin,  I  deceive  myself. 
It  is  a  fact  that  in  Jesus  Christ,  as  "  a  man 
in  Christ,"  I  am  not  only  released  from  the 
guilt  of  sin — I  am  emancipated  from  its  power. 
I  am  "  well  able  to  overcome  "  ;  I  need  not 
fall  here,  and  stumble  there,  "in  Him  that 
loveth  me." 

"  How  vast  the  benefits  divine 
Which  I  in  Christ  possess ! 
Sav'd  from  the  guilt  of  sin  I  am, 
And  call'd  to  holiness." 

Nothing  is  more  practical  in  the  common 
round  of  life  than  the  thought  that  in  Christ 
we,  unworthy  sinners,  have  an  unsinning 
character.  If  indeed  we  love  Him  with  a  love 
worth  calling  love,  that  thought  will  be  to  us 
an  inspiration  ;  for  it  will  raise  our  whole  idea 
both  of  the  rule  and  standard  of  conformity  to 
His  beloved  will,  and  of  our  capacity  in  Him  to 
follow  after  it.  If  I  do  not  mistake,  this  one 
remembrance  will  do  more  than  many  glowing 
exhortations  to  keep  us  conscious  of"  the  sinful- 
ness of  little  sins,"  and  of  the  blessedness  of  the 
life  in  which  they  really  can  be  "  laid  aside." 
It  will  lift  the  all-important  average  of  our  daily 


"  A    CLOSER    WALK    WITH    GOD  "  2  11 

and  hourly  aim,  and  of  the  loving  hope  of  living 
nearer  and  nearer  "  up  to  it."  It  will  call  us 
with  a  voice  divinely  cheerful  away  from  a 
dreary  contentment  with  an  inveterate  ex- 
perience of  failure,  and  draw  us  close  to  the 
side  of  Him  who  can  and  will  respond  to  our 
thirst  for  "  a  closer  walk  with  God  "  in  common 
things  ;  making  them  all  so  many  occasions  for 
"  walking  and  pleasing  Him." 

This  view  of  Christian  life  animates  the 
whole  passage  of  the  Epistle  which  we  are  now 
traversing.  In  our  last  chapter  we  saw  St 
Paul  applying  the  heavenly  secret  to  the  worst 
and  foulest  temptations.  The  "  life  hid  with 
Christ  in  God "  was  there  brought  to  bear 
upon  "  fornication,  impurity,  passion,  and  greed, 
which  is  idolatry  "  ;  all  the  grossest  forms  of 
confessed  evil,  things  whose  "inconsistency" 
with  the  Christian  rule  is  flagrant.  But  St  Paul 
has  more  to  say  now ;  he  will  come  closer  to 
the  conscience,  where  it  may  be  comfortably 
asleep.  The  Colossians  must  not  be  left  for  a 
moment  uninformed  that  they  are  to  carry,  as 
Christians,  an  "  unsinning  character  "  into  the 
every-day  details  of  life,  and  are  to  live  up  to 


2  12  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

it  in  them  all.  In  Christ,  as  joined  to  Christ, 
as  having  Christ  for  their  life,  as  looking  to 
"  the  things  above  "  for  their  secret  of  holiness 
below — they  are  not  only  to  "do  to  death" 
such  "members  upon  the  earth"  as  fornication 
and  pollution.  They  are  to  "put  off" — not 
merely  to  modify  or  reduce,  but  to  put  quite 
off  from  them — all  sinning  of  the  temper,  all 
sinning  of  the  tongue.  "  The  total  abstinence 
of  the  Gospel "  is  to  be  the  law  here  also  ; 
a  law  which  can  be  obeyed,  in  Jesus  Christ. 
So  he  proceeds  : 

Ver.  8.  But  now,  as  things  are  now,  in  your  happy 
change  of  conditions  since  you  ceased  to  "have 
your  life"  (ver.  7)  in  the  old  polluted  region,  do 
you  also,  you  as  all  other  true  believers  must  do, 
put  away  from  you l  the  whole  list  of  sins  (ra  iravra : 
"  the  all  things,"  the  many  gathered  up  into  a 
class),  making  no  compromise,  evasion,  exception ; 
counting  nothing  too  common,  too  trifling,  too 
passing,  to  be  cast  off  if  it  is  not  in  the  will  of 
God.     "  Put   away "   (decisive   word  !)   anger,   wrath, 

1  'Anodeo-de  :  observe  the  imperative.  The  English  Version 
leaves  it  doubtful  whether  it  is  command  or  assertion  :  in 
the  Greek,  it  is  a  most  definite  command,  in  the  Lord's 
Name,  to  do  a  something  which  can  be  done,  in  His  power. 


THE  OLD  MAN  AND  THE  NEW      21 3 

alike  the  chronic  (0/3777)  and  the  more  sudden  (Ovfios) 
sort ;  malice,  the  ill-will,  however  concealed,  which 
can  wish  the  least  evil  to  a  neighbour ;  railing,1  foul- 
mouthed  talk  (alcr^poXoyla  e/c  tov  <j-TOfx,aro<;  v/jloov),  at 

Ver.  9.  once  abusive  and  defiling.2  Do  not  lie  to 
one  another,  seeing  you  stripped  off,  when  you  entered 
into  Christ,  the  old  man  with  his  practices,  the  old 
state  of  the  unregenerate ;  your  state  in  Adam,  not 
in  Christ ;  the  state  of  guilt  under  sentence  and 
of  bondage  under  temptation,  with  all  the  subtle 
"  practices " 3    which    it    fosters    in    heart    and    life ; 

Ver.  10.  and  did  clothe  yourselves  with  the  new 
man,  (entering,  in  the  second  Adam,  on  your  new 
state  of  acceptance  and  of  spiritual  victory,)  that 
mystic  "  man "  which  is  being  ever  renewed,  ever 
maintained  and  developed,  unto  spiritual  knowledge, 
so  as  to  capacitate  you  for  fresh  intimacy  with 
your  God,  in  the  image  of  Him  who  created  him ;  so 
as  to  resemble  more  and   more  that  FATHER  who 


1  BXaacprjfxia :  the  Greek  word  means  evil-speaking  against 
either  God  or  man.  We  have  come  to  restrict  "  blasphemy  " 
to  the  former.  The  context  here  makes  it  plain  that  the  latter 
is  meant. 

a  The  word  alaxpoXoyia  in  its  general  usage  suggests  both 
ideas  together.  I  have  attempted  to  convey  this  in  the 
translation. 

3  See  Rom.  viii.  13  for  the  same  word  in  a  suggestive 
connexion:  "If  ye  by  the  Spirit  do  to  death  the  irpa^eis  of 
the  body." 


2  14  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

has  constituted  (e/cTtae)  you  His  children  in  His 
Son,  and  so  has  "  created  "  that  glorious  phenomenon, 
Christ  and  His  members,  one  Body. 

Ver.  ii.  There,1  in  this  happy  region,  in  the  life 
and  society  of  the  New  Man,  there  exists  not 2  Greek 
and  Jew,  circumcision  and  uncircumcision,  Barbarian, 
Scythian,3  bondman,  freeman ;  such  distinctions,  as 
things  which  can  divide  heart  from  heart,  cannot 
breathe,   as  it    were,    in   the   blessed   atmosphere   of 

1  I  abandon  here  the  Apostle's  relative  construction,  ottov, 
for  the  sake  of  clearness  in  the  extended  paraphrase." 

2  Ovk  %vi :  more  emphatic  than  ovk  ioriv. 

3  "  Greek,"  "EWtjv,  in  such  an  antithesis  as  this,  "denotes 
all  nations  not  Jews  that  made  the  language,  customs,  and 
learning  of  the  Greeks  their  own  "  (Grimm's  JV.  T.  Lexicon, 
ed.  Thayer). — "  Barbarian"  :  "The  word  barbaros,  in  Greek, 
first  denoted  the  speaker  of  an  unintelligible  language,  and 
so  a  non-Greek,  whatever  his  state  of  society  or  culture.  It 
thus  [at  first]  included  the  Romans,  and  in  pre-Augustan 
Latin  writers  is  even  used  as  a  synonym  for  Latin.  {E.g. 
Plautus,  in  the  prologue  to  one  of  his  comedies,  reminds  the 
audience  that  the  drama  was  originally  Greek,  but  Plautus 
vortit  barbare,  "  Plautus  turned  it  into  Latin."~\  But  '  from 
the  Augustan  age  the  name  belonged  to  all  tribes  which  had 
no  Greek  or  Roman  accomplishments  '  (Liddell  and  Scott, 
Greek  Lexicon)."  (Note  here  in  Cambridge  Bible  for 
Schools,  etc.). — "Scythian":  the  "barbarian"  £ar  excel- 
lence. The  Scythians  were  probably  akin  to  the  modern 
Turks. — There  is  evidence  (from  Herodotus,  i.  105,  106)  that 
in  the  time  of  Josiah  the  Scythians  poured  into  Palestine, 
and  made  havoc  of  the  country.  Thus  the  name  would  carry 
a  special  sound  of  savagery  to  Jewish  ears. 


DIFFERENCES    FUSED    IN    CHRIST  215 


the  New  Man.  National,  and  educational,  and 
social  variations  of  course  remain  still,  as  things 
in  themselves  ;  but  as  things  which  can  interfere 
between  member  and  member  of  Christ  they  are 
no  more.  Nay,  rather,  (dUa),  all  things,  and  in  all 
persons,  in  all  persons  joined  thus  together,  are  just- 
Christ.  Such  is  HE  to  each  one  of  His  own  that 
each  is  to  all,  the  rest,  only  an  instance  of  His  life 
and  presence;  each  sees  HIM  in  all.  "Facts  of 
race,  history,  status,  are  not  indeed  contradicted, 
but  they  are  overruled  and  transfigured  into  mere 
varying  phases  of  a  central  union  with  the  Lord, 
who  shines  equally  through  all  His  members." 

To  those  who  know  anything  of  the  main 
lines  of  ancient  thought  it  will  be  unnecessary 
to  dwell  at  length  upon  the  moral  and  social 
miracle  implied  in  such  words  as  these.  The 
Greek  looked  habitually  on  "barbarian"  races 
as  descended  from  an  origin  radically  other 
than  his  own.  And  the  Jew,  though  he  knew 
better,  from  that  divine  Book  which  so  jealously 
asserts  the  oneness  of  humanity,  had  allowed 
himself,  as  we  know,  to  look  on  non-Jews  as 
beings  with  whom  it  was  a  sin  to  eat.  Into 
a   world    so    divided   against    itself    came    the 


2l6  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

Gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Son  of  God, 
Son  of  Man,  Redeemer,  Life,  and  King  ;  and 
lo,  within  a  few  short  years  an  ultra-Pharisee 
is  writing  thus  to  Grecized  Phrygians.  And 
the  process  has  gone  on,  till  every  corner  of 
the  earth  is  now  contributing  its  joyful  illus- 
tration, and  there  is  neither  European,  nor 
Asiatic,  nor  African,  nor  Indian  of  the  West, 
nor  Islander  of  the  Oceans,  but  all,  and  in  all, 
is  Jesus  Christ. 

We   must  pass  soon  to  another   paragraph. 
But  let  us  not  leave  this  one  without  one  more 
mindful  look  at  its  penetrating  law  of  holiness, 
and   at   the    motive    and    reason    underlying. 
Shall  we,  my   reader  and  myself,   deliberately 
remember    that    imperative    of    the    Apostle, 
airodeaOe,   "put  off"   and  the  things  which   it 
includes  ?     We   have   here   before   us,    as    we 
have  seen,   no. longer  sins    of  the   scandalous 
order,  as  it  is  supposed  specially  to  be.     We 
are  concerned  only  with  the  facile  transgressions 
of  the  temper,   and   of  the    tongue;    "anger, 
wrath,   malice,    railing,"    and  talk    that    is    not 
quite     clean,    and     that     is     not     quite     true. 
Take  this  to  heart,  Christian  man  or  woman, 


LET  US  TAKE  NO  HALF  MEASURES     2  1? 

professing  to  "  live  godly  "  in  common  life  in 
the  modern   world.     The  precepts  given  here 
lay  hands  upon  a  great  many  things  tolerated 
all  too  easily  at  the  dinner-tables,  and  in   the 
drawing-rooms,  and  at  the  holiday  resorts,  of 
such  as  we  are  supposed  to  be.     Our  offences 
may  not  perhaps  look  great  in  point  of  scale. 
We    may     not     be    violently    passionate,    or 
positively  abusive  and    indecorous    in    speech, 
nor  may  we  be  of  those  who  deliberately  "  love 
and  make  a   lie."     But   do  we  not  too  easily 
let  ourselves  sin  on  a  moderate  scale  in  things 
which   are  just  the  same  in    kind  ?      We   are 
irritable ;  we  carry  about  a  cherished  grudge  ; 
we  speak  harsh  words  of  the  absent,  when  no 
good   purpose    whatever    really   underlies    the 
speaking  ;  we  needlessly  allude  to  uncleanness  ; 
we  trifle  with   truth  and  manipulate  it,  when 
to  do  so  will  save  us  a  little  trouble.     And  all 
these  things  are  identical  in  kind  with  the  worst 
bursts  of  anger,  or  the  most  cruel  objurgations, 
or  the  gravest  falsehoods.      They  lie   on    the 
same   inclined   plane,   away   from    the   love    of 
God,  and  towards  the  outer  darkness.      Then 
we  will  take  no  half  measures  with  them.     We 


2  18  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

will  "  put  them  away,"  just  as  we  would  put 
away  a  filthy  garment,  which  it  would  be 
misery  to  wear  for  another  quarter  of  an 
hour. 

And  what  will  be  our  motive  and  our  power 
for  doing  so  with  such  pollutions  ?  Alas,  in 
our  own  name  and  strength  the  effort  will  be 
vain.  To  the  repressive  exertions  of  self, 
the  sins  of  self  are  like  the  shirt  of  Nessus 
upon  the  tortured  and  helpless  Hercules.  The 
very  struggle,  when  conscience  goads  trie  un- 
regenerate  will,  may  even  develope  the  virus 
of  the  habit.  But  the  Apostle  knows  a  better 
way.  He  gives  the  Colossians  a  command, 
but  he  supports  it  and  makes  it  possible  by  a 
divine  fact.  He  reminds  them  that  as  a  fact 
they  have  passed  from  death  unto  life,  and 
have  exchanged  condemnation  and  bondage 
in  Adam  for  the  pardon  and  the  power  which 
are  in  Christ.  Whether  they  are  subjectively 
"  feeling  it "  or  no,  this  is  the  objective  fact 
and  law  of  their  position  and  of  their  condition  ; 
they  are  in  Christ,  and  Christ  is  in  them. 
And  their  brother-Christians  are  in  Christ,  and 
Christ   is  in   every  one  of  them.       Let   them 


PUTTING    OFF   AND    PUTTING    ON  2  19 

recollect  their  own  life  in  Him,  and  His  in 
them,  and  they  will  bring  in  an  invincible  force 
against  their  sins.  And  let  them  recollect 
the  life  of  their  brethren  in  Him,  and  His  in 
them,  and  they  will  need  little  else  to  teach 
them  the  lesson  of  unselfish  love. 

Nor  let  them  think  that  the  power  of  such 
a  secret  shall  be  felt  only  within  the  circle 
of  the  saints.  Let  it  be  really  felt  there,  and 
it  will  be  impossible  to  keep  it  from  a  gracious 
overflow  upon  all  the  world.  To  the  Christian, 
every  other  man  either  is  in  Christ,  or  may 
be ;  he  is  a  Christian  in  posse,  if  not  yet  in  esse. 
For  him,  Christ  died.  In  him,  Christ  yet 
may  live,  in  grace,  and  in  glory.  Thus  the 
Lord  already  looks  upon  His  servant  out 
of  that  man's  eyes ;  that  man  has  already 
Christian  claims  upon  the  Christian. 

But  now  he  passes  into  further  details  in 
the  same  line.  And  his  tone  is  now  positive. 
We  have  thought  thus  far  mainly  of  "  putting 
off."  It  is  well,  it  is  vital  to  do  so.  But 
it  is  not  enough  ;  it  is  to  be  done  only  in 
order  to   "  putting  on." 


220  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

"I  want  that  adorning  divine 

Which  only  Thy  grace  can  bestow ; 
I  want  in  those  beautiful  garments  to  shine 
Which  distinguish  Thy  household  below." 

True,  we  have  already  had  mentioned  a 
noble  "  putting-on,"  that  of  the  New  Man. 
But  this  was  a  matter  of  position  and  of  posses- 
sion. There  must  also  be  the  "  putting-on " 
of  realization,  and  of  use,  and  of  manifestation  ; 
or  the  blessed  means  will  miss  its  end. 

Ver.  12.  Put  on  therefore,  clothing  yourselves  anew, 
as  God's  chosen  ones,  "chosen  in  Christ  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world "  on  purpose  to  be  like 
Him,  holy,  dedicated  by  that  sovereign  choice  to 
Him,  and  having  His  love  set  upon  you,1  in  that 
sublime  original  exercise  of  it ;  put  on,  I  say,  as 
your  "  beautiful  garments,"  a  heart 2  of  compassion 
(oUrtp/jLou,  not  oIktlpjjlcov),  sympathies  ready  and 
open,  sweetness  of  temper  and  bearing,  humble- 
mindedness,  the  attitude  of  a  soul  "which  has  lost 
its  pride  in  discovering  the  mercy  of  its  salvation," 

1  I  thus  attempt  to  convey  the  force  of  the  perfect  passive 
participle  rjyanrjuevoi..  It  is  more  than  the  verbal  adjective 
dyanrjTOi. 

3  2ir\ayxvd  is  better  rendered  so  than  as  in  A.V.  The 
anXayxvd  included  not  the  bowels  but  the  lungs  and  heart, 
the  viscera  nobiliora. 


PATIENCE,    FORGIVENESS,    LOVE  22  1 

meekness  in  submission  under  pain  and  trial,  long- 
suffering,   the  spirit  which  will  not  be  tired  out   of 

Ver.  13.  pardoning,  hoping,  loving ;  bearing  with 
one  another,  and  forgiving  one  another,1  if  (the  "if," 
idv,  puts,  as  it  were  reluctantly,  a  case  just  sup- 
posable)  any  one  has  a  grievance2  against  any  one; 
(for  you  are  erring  sinners  still,  and  may  give  each 
other  occasion  for  such  victories  of  good  over  evil). 
Just  as  the  Lord,  (so  read,  probably,  not  "  God,")  the 
eternal  Saviour  and  Master,  with  His  infinite  rights, 
did  forgive  you,  as  you  rejoice  to  know  He  did,  so 
do  you  too ;  using  your  assurance  of  pardon,  your 
undoubting  certainty  that  "your  sins  are  forgiven 
you  for  His  Name's  sake,"  not  for  indolence  and 
slumber,    but    for    the    glad     activities    of    a    self- 

Ver.  14.  forgetting  kindness.  But  over  all  these 
things,  as  if  it  were  the  girdle  upon  and  around  all 
these  graces,  bracing  them  into  one,  put  on  love, 
which  (o,  not  rprt?)  is  the  bond  of  perfectness ;  for  it 
makes  and  it  maintains,  as  no  other  power  can  do, 
the  "  perfectness,"  the  wholeness,  the  sweet  ripeness 
of  the  Christian  character,  whether  in  the  man  or 
in  the  company.     "  Seeking  its  joy  in  the  felicity  of 


1  'Eavro'is:  lit.,  "yourselves,"  but  obviously  (as  in  many 
other  passages)  in  the  sense  of  "  one  another"  in  community. 

2  The  "quarrel"  of  the  A.V.  is  Old  English,  from  the 
French  querelle  and  the  Latin  querela ;  not  a  wrangle,  but 
a  cause  of  complaint. 


222  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

Ver.  15.  others,"  it  must  be  so,  it  will  be  so.  And 
let  the  peace  of  Christ  (Xpiarov,  not  ©eov)  arbitrate 
in  your  hearts ;  let  every  inward  debate  between  self 
and  God,  between  self  and  others,  be  ruled  and 
guided  by  the  deep  consciousness  that  in  Christ 
you  are  indeed  at  rest ;  let  the  plea  for  self- 
assertion  be  ever  met  and  negatived  by  the  decision 
of  that  umpire  (/3/9a/3eu?)  in  favour  of  love.  For 
that  "  peace  of  Christ "  is  given  you  not  for  your- 
selves only  as  individuals,  but  for  the  community  ; 
into  it  you  were  in  fact  (/cat)  called,  at  your  conver- 
sion, in  one  body;  you  were  brought  one  "by  one 
under  its  gentle  power  as  those  who  were  now  one 
with  one  another  in  a  society  whose  inmost  law 
should  thus  be  holy  peace.  And  be  ye,  become  ye 
(ytvecrOe)  more  and  more,  thankful ;  prompt  to  see 
your  mercies,  and  to  praise  the  Giver — sure  and 
blessed  secret  for  a  tone  of  loving  and  generous 
sympathy  towards  all. 

Meanwhile,  in  order  to  the  stability  and  depth 
of  this  life,  where  self  was  to  be  subject  and 
Christ  Sovereign,  they  were  to  fill  their  minds 
and  souls  with  the  articulate  message  of  the 
Gospel.  In  order  to  enjoy  "  the  peace  of 
Christ  "  they  were  to  be  perpetually  conversant 
with  "  the  word  of  Christ."     Their  law  of  loving 


"THE    WORD    OF    CHRIST"  223 

holiness,  and  their  power  to  keep  it,  was  to  be  no 
matter  merely  of  impressions  and  sentiment. 
It  was  to  be  altogether  conditioned  by  the 
revealed  facts  of  their  salvation  ;  based  always 
on  that  "  word  of  God  which  liveth  and  abideth 
for  ever,"  and  which  is  so  totally  different  a 
thing  from  the  mere  consciousness  of  even 
regenerate  man  ;  for  it  is  the  definite  revelation 
given  by  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord. 
For  the  Colossians,  that  "word  of  Christ" 
would  be  largely  given  in  the  Old  Testament 
Scriptures,  full  all  through  of  "  the  things  con- 
cerning Him."  Then,  it  would  be  given  also 
through  the  oral  teaching  of  their  inspired 
Missionaries,  which  for  us  exists  now  only  in 
the  form  of  the  New  Testament  Scriptures. 
And  already  the  New  Testament  Scriptures 
themselves  were  beginning  to  appear,  and  to 
be  owned  as  "the  word  of  Christ";  this 
present  Epistle  is  an  example,  for  assuredly 
it  was  read  in  the  Colossian  assembly  with 
a  reverence  at  least  as  great  as  that  which 
the  scrolls  of  Jeremiah  claimed  when  they 
were  first  read  in  the  Jewish  Church.  Doubt- 
less we  must  not  limit  the  phrase  "  the  word 


224  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

of  Christ"  to  written  conveyances  of  the  Lord's 
message  ;  certainly  not,  while  the  Apostles 
and  "  apostolic  men "  were  with  the  Church. 
But  equally  surely  the  phrase  would  suggest 
first  and  most  in  that  day  "  the  Scriptures  of 
the  prophets,"  as  unfolding  Christ,1  and  would 
then  inevitably  attach  itself  also  to  the  indelible 
written  utterances  of  the  Apostles  and  Evan- 
gelists. For  us  yet  more  that  "word"  must 
mean  the  Scriptures,  unless  we  are  to  drift 
we  do  not  know  where.  Not  as  if  "  God 
were  shut  up  within  the  covers  of  an  old 
Book  "  ;  but  as  if  He  had,  as  He  has,  given 
us  in  that  Book  the  one  great  articulate  Letter 
He  has  written  to  His  children,  to  be  their 
perpetual  certainty  about  His  will,  His  heart, 
His  way,  His  salvation,  His  Son.  He  is  not 
"imprisoned"  in  His  Letter.  But  none  the 
less  His  Letter  is  absolutely  unique  as  such. 
We  have  still,  and  always,  to  ask,  in  the  last 
resort,  "  Is  it  written?" 

Ver.  1 6.    The  word  of  our  (tov)  Christ,  let  it  dwell 
in   you,    as   a   permanent   part,    always    present,    of 

1  See  the  closing  words  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans. 


THE    SERVICE    OF    SONG  225 

your  thought  and  affections  ;  let  it  do  this  richly, 
abundantly  poured  into  your  memories,  and  coming 
out  largely  into  your  language  ;  and  let  it  be  thus 
in  all  wisdom,  "  the  wisdom  that  is  from  above,"  a 
thing  infinitely  higher  than  the  finest  tact  of  the 
critic,  or  the  largest  views  of  the  philosopher.  Seek 
and  pray  that  you  may  not  only  know  "  the  word  " 
verbally,  but  may  enter  into  it  with  spiritual  insight, 
and  use  it  with  spiritual  skill,  for  yourselves  and 
others. 

One  particular  outcome  of  such  a  rich  indwelling 
will  be  the  developement  of  the  social,  devotional, 
service  of  sacred  song  ;  the  speaking  out  in  this 
beautiful  way  of  an  inward  treasure  of  truth  which 
cannot  be  hid :  Teaching  and  admonishing  one  an- 
other (kavTovs :  see  note  on  the  word  above)  in 
psalms,  the  songs  of  the  Old  Testament  saints,  and 
hymns,  the  inspired  praises  of  the  Christian  Church, 
and  spiritual  odes,  compositions  developed  by  gifted 
individuals,  on  the  theme  of  the  great  facts  and 
truths  of  the  Gospel 1 ;  in  your  (rrj)  grace,  in  the 
power  of  your  Saviour's  presence,  singing  in  your 
hearts,  (not  only  with  your  voices,  though  your 
voices    must   be    used,    if   you    are    to    help   "  one 

Ver.  17.    another,")  to  our  (t£)  God.2     And  anything 

1  The  paraphrase  is  of  course  only  a  conjectural  definition 
of  the  three  kinds  of  song  named  here  and  in  Eph.  v.  19. 
s  So  probably  read  ;  not  to  Kvplu. 

15 


2  26  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

whatever  that  you  may  do,  in  word  or  in  deed,  let  all 
things  be  in  the  Name  of  the  Lord  Jesus ;  as  it  were, 
perpetually  "quote  Him  as  the  Master  who  sets  the 
task,  and  owns  and  uses  the  servant "  ;  remembering 
as  the  deepest  instinct  of  your  lives  that  in  every- 
thing and  for  everything  you  belong  to  Him  ;  giving 
thanks  to  our  (tg5)  God,  His  Father  (omit  teal  before 
nrarpi),  through  Him. 

The  long  section  allotted  to  this  chapter 
of  our  Studies  closes  here.  The  precepts 
of  general  Christian  holiness  are  almost 
done ;  we  shall  approach  next  the  beautiful 
kindred  passage  where  these  principles  are 
carried  into  the  details  of  Christian  home- 
life.  Very  little  needs  to  be  said  by  way  of 
pointing  the  moral  of  the  last  verses  we 
have  read  ;  only  a  few  words  on  two  leading 
points. 

i.  First  we  note  with  thankfulness  this  quite 
special  injunction  regarding  the  use  of  Christian 
psalmody.  Nothing  could  be  clearer  than  this 
Scriptural  authority  for  hymn-singing  and 
psalm-singing,  as  not  merely  a  natural  and 
pleasant  thing,  but  a  definite  means  of  spiritual 
blessing.     Full  inspired  sanction  is  given  here 


THE    SERVICE    OF    SONG  227 

on  the  one  hand  to  the  cultivation  of  God's 
gifts  of  poetic  and  musical  form,  in  the  entire 
conviction  that  they  are  His  gifts,  and  meant 
by  Him  for  a  purpose.  On  the  other  hand 
the  Apostle  lays  it  solemnly  upon  us  to  see 
that  these  rich  resources  are  used  "  in  spirit 
and  in  truth."  The  great  purpose  of  the  holy 
melody,  next  to  its  being  "  unto  the  Lord," 
is  to  be  the  "  instruction  and  admonition  of  one 
another."  The  psalm,  the  hymn,  the  song,  if 
it  is  to  be  of  the  right  kind,  and  rightly  used, 
must  be  calculated  for  no  mere  ear-pleasing 
ends  ;  it  must  be  such  as  to  convey  eternal 
truth,  strong,  tender,  uplifting,  searching, 
directing ;  carried  with  felt  delight  into  the 
inmost  mind,  as  Christians  hear  Christians 
singing  with  them. 

Alas  for  us  when  hymn  or  anthem  is 
"rendered"  with  a  lower  aim.  It  may  shake 
the  minster-roof,  but  it  will  be  silent  not  only 
before  the  Throne  but  in  the  conscience  and 
the  will.  Well  and  blessed  for  us  when,  in 
the  spirit  of  St  Paul's  welcome  command,  we 
meet  for  a  service  of  genuinely  holy  song, 
whether   in   cathedral,  or   in  parish  church,  or 


228  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 


in   the   social    circle,  or    in   the    family  apart ; 
and 

"Sing  till  we  feel  our  hearts 
Ascending  with  our  tongues ; 
Sing  till  the  love  of  sin  departs, 
And  grace  inspires  our  songs." 

ii.  Lastly  we  observe,  not  for  the  first  time 
in  the  Epistle,  the  emphasis  thrown  by  St  Paul 
upon  the  duty  and  the  joy  of  thankfulness. 
"  Be  ye  thankful  " ;  "  Giving  thanks  to  God 
through  Him."  And  we  notice  it  as  it  stands 
here  in  deep  connexion  with  the  community  of 
Christian  life.  St  Paul  is  restless  with  the 
longing  to  draw  together  the  hearts  of  the 
Colossian  converts,  and  weld  them  into  one. 
He  has  many  things  to  say  to  this  purpose. 
But  he  reiterates  this,  and  closes  with  it;  "Be 
ye  thankful,"  "  Render  thanks."  He  is  using 
here  a  truth  which  is  as  powerful  to-day  as 
ever.  There  is  nothing  more  sure  to  isolate 
hearts  than  the  spirit  of  complaint.  There  is 
nothing  more  sure  to  fuse  them  into  a  strong 
and  happy  oneness  than  the  Christian  spirit  of 
thanksgiving. 


THE    CHRISTIAN  HOME 


229 


How  sweet,  how  heavenly  is  the  sight, 
When  those  who  love  the  Lord 

In  one  another's  peace  delight, 
And  so  fulfil  His  word. 

Swain. 

There's  no  place  like  Home. 


230 


CHAPTER   XI 

THE    CHRISTIAN    HOME 
Colossians  iii.  1 8 — iv.  I 

WE  have  followed  the  Apostle  thus  far  in 
his  lesson  of  Holiness,  as  it  has  to 
do  with  social  Christian  life  in  general.  We 
come  now  to  the  application  of  principles  to 
one  all-important  particular,  holiness  as  lived 
out  in  the  Christian   Home. 

It  is  remarkable  that  St  Paul's  Epistles  to 
the  Asian  Churches,  Ephesians  and  Colossians, 
are  those  in  which  alone  we  find  a  detailed 
treatment  of  this  subject ;  unless  we  add  to 
them  the  Epistle  to  Philemon,  itself  also  a 
letter  to  an  Asian  convert  ;  a  letter  dealing 
altogether  with  a  domestic  problem,  and  con- 
taining special  greetings  to  members  of  a 
home.       It    has   been    suggested    that    in    the 

social  traditions  of  "  Asia  "  a  certain  prominence 

231 


232  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

appears  to  have  attached  to  the  family  idea, 
and  that  this  led  the  Apostle  to  speak  with 
the  more  fulness  of  the  holy  motives  and 
precepts  which  alone  can  clothe  that  idea  in 
its  realized  beauty.  It  may  be  so.  Or  is  it 
not  possible  that  the  incident  of  Onesimus' 
visit  and  his  conversion  may  have  guided  St 
Paul's  thought  somewhat  specially  to  the  in- 
terior of  home  life  at  the  moment  when  he 
was  called  to  address  the  Asian  Churches  ? 

Whatever  the  occasion  for  these  expositions 
of  Holiness  at  Home,  let  us  thank  God  for 
them,  as  for  some  of  the  chief  treasures  of  His 
Word.  For  on  the  one  hand  the  Christian 
Home  is  truly  "  the  masterpiece  of  the  applied 
Gospel " ;  the  scene  of  the  loveliest  mani- 
festations of  its  spirit,  and  then  also  the  source, 
or  reservoir,  out  of  which  its  noblest  influence 
is  to  flow  around.  On  the  other  hand  Home 
is  the  place  of  all  others  where  it  is  most  easy 
for  us  forgetful  sinners  not  to  live  in  the  full 
light  and  power  of  the  Gospel.  It  is  the  place 
where  we  most  easily  go  off  our  guard  ;  where 
small  inconsistencies  are  most  readily  allowed 
to  grow  into  habits ;  where  the  member  of  the 


HOLINESS    AT    HOME  233 

circle  may  only  too  lightly  act  as  if  there  were 
less  need  there  than  elsewhere  of  the  fulness 
of  the  Spirit,  the  indwelling  of  the  Lord  in 
the  heart,  the  surrender  of  the  whole  life  to 
God. 

It  is  a  special  gift  accordingly,  this  gift  of 
the  Master's  precepts  for  our  life  in  Him  at 
Home.  It  is  not  for  nothing  that  the  New 
Testament  has  more  to  say  in  detail  on  this 
theme  than  on  other  particular  aspects  of 
Christian  life,  the  ordained  Ministry  of  the 
Church  alone  excepted.  We  might  have 
looked  for  minute  directions  as  to  the  Christian's 
conduct  in  the  walks  of  business,  for  example. 
We  have  as  a  fact  scattered  precepts  every- 
where bearing  on  that  field  of  duty ;  but  we 
have  nothing  connected  and  combined  upon  it. 
It  is  as  if  the  Apostle  was  led  to  emphasize 
holiness  at  home  as  not  only  beautiful  and  right 
in  itself,  but  the  true  nursery  of  habits  of 
holiness  everywhere. 

As  we  approach  the  passage  now  before  us, 
let  us  meanwhile  recollect  that  it  comes  in  close 
connexion  with  all  that  has  gone  before.     The 


2  34  COLOSSI  AN    STUDIES 

Christian  at  home  is  taken  for  granted  as 
already  a  Christian  indeed.  All  the  truths 
about  the  Lord's  personal  glory  given  us  in 
chap.  i.  are  supposed  to  be  living  in  his  con- 
victions. All  the  treasures  of  grace  in  our 
covenant  connexion  with  Him,  unfolded  in 
chap.  ii.  and  onward,  are  supposed  to  be  in  his 
mind  and  soul.  He  is  one  who  knows  that  in 
Christ,  the  Son  of  the  Father,  the  Saviour  and 
Head  of  the  disciple,  he  died,  he  rose  again, 
he  lives,  with  the  life  hid  with  Him  in  God  ; 
and  Christ  is  his  life.  He  has  made  proof  of 
these  inestimable  facts  (not  thoughts  only  but 
facts)  upon  the  realities  of  temptation  in 
general.  Now  let  him  find  and  manifest  their 
beautiful  power  in  holiness  at  home.  So 
viewed,  the  passage  is  no  mere  aspiration.  It 
is  an  ideal  waiting  for  prompt  and  lasting 
realization  ;  for  the  spiritual  means  to  realize  it 
are  all  provided,  in  the  Lord. 

Ver.  1 8.    Wives,  be  loyal  to  your  (rot';)  husbands,1  as 
it  is   fitting  in  the  Lord.     From  one  side,  you  and 


1  'YTTOT&ao-ccrdf    rols   avbpaaiv.      Omit    ISiots   before    avbpaaiv. 
I  use  the  phrase  "be  loyal"  as  best,  perhaps,  representing 


THE    WIFE    AND    THE    HUSBAND  235 

they  are  on  the  most  absolute  of  equalities  ;  for 
you  are  sacredly  one.  From  another  side,  in  God's 
order,  while  you  are  to  them  the  most  honourable 
and  honoured  of  friends  and  counsellors,  apart  from 
all  the  blessed  endearments  of  your  union,  yet  they 
are  the  appointed  and  responsible  leaders.  "The 
husband  is  the  head  of  the  wife "  ;  a  headship 
sanctified  to  both  parties  by  its  revealed  analogy  to 
the  headship  of  the  Lord  in  relation  to  the  Church. 
Ver.  19.  Husbands,  love  your  (rd?)  wives,  with  that 
pure,  faithful,  reverent  love  in  which  you  forget 
yourselves  in  devotion  to  them,  and  do  not  be  bitter 
towards  them.  Never  for  a  moment  let  your  leader- 
ship be  mistaken  for  a  right  to  irritability  of  temper 
and    to   the  miserable  spirit  of  domestic  autocracy. 

Ver.  20.  Children,  a  word  which  by  no  means  in- 
dicates only  early  youth,  obey  your  (tow)  parents 
in  all  respects  (Kara  irdvra),  with  the  manifest  one 
limitation  of  supreme  obedience  to  the  eternal  Parent 
in  His  law  of  holiness ;  for  this  is  well-pleasing  in 
the  Lord1;  well-pleasing  to  your  heavenly  Father's 
heart,  as  a  manifestation  of  your  true  life  "  in  "  His 

Ver.  21.     Son.     Parents,2  do  not  irritate  your  children, 


the  idea  of  a  "  submission  "  which  is  absolutely  different  from 
service,  and  yet  is  the  recognition  of  a  God-appointed 
leadership. 

1  Read  iv  Kvpia,  not  r<a  Kvpia. 

2  Ot  irarepes  :  lit.,  "  fathers T     But  the  word  irartpes  is  not 


236  COLOSSI  AN    STUDIES 

do  not  challenge  their  resistance1  by  unwise  and 
exacting  interferences,  so  different  from  the  steady 
firmness  of  thoughtful  and  responsible  affection,  that 
they  may  not  be  out  of  heart,  discouraged  under  the 
chilling  feeling  that  it  is  impossible  to  please,  that 
the  word  of  praise  is  never  heard,  that  confidence 
is  never  reposed  in  their  affection  and  fidelity. 

Ver.  22.  Bondservants,  (and  here  he  turns  to  the 
class  embodied  to  him  in  Onesimus,  and  whose 
peculiar  and  difficult  conditions  give  them  a  claim 
to  fuller  counsels,)  obey  in  all  respects2  your  human 
lords  (to69  Kara  <japica  Kvplots:),  your  lords  "  according 
to  flesh"  for  One  only  is  your  Lord  in  the  sphere 
of  the  Spirit;  not  with  eye-bondage,3  the  fidelity  and 
diligence  which  depends  only  on  inspection,  as  men- 
pleasers,  mere  candidates  for  favours  where  no  loving 
loyalty  is  felt  to  either  the  human  master  or  the 
divine  ;   but  in  simplicity  of  heart,  with  the  genuine 


seldom  used,  in  classical  Greek,  of  both  parents ;  and  so  in 
Heb.  xi.  23,  where  Moses  is  hidden  by  his.  narepes.  In  the 
light  of,  e.g.,  the  teaching  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs  on 
maternal  authority,  we  are  surely  right  in  assuming  that  both 
father  and  mother  are  in  view  in  a  precept  like  this. 

1  The  special  idea  suggested  by  epe8i(eip. 

-  Observe  the  identity  of  phrase,  to  the  son  and  to  the 
slave.  It  does  not  degrade  the  son's  "obedience";  it 
elevates  the  slave's. 

:)  'Ocpda\fjLo8ov\tia :  only  here  and  Eph.  vi.  6.  Perhaps  the 
word  was  coined  by  St  Paul. 


THE    TRUE    MASTER  237 


wish  to  do  right,  to  be  really  serviceable,  fearing 
your  (top)  Lord,  with  that  "fear"  which  means  no 
"torment,"   no    shrinking,   but   a   reverent    devotion 

Ver.  23.  to  His  sacred  will.  Whatever  you  do,1  all 
through  the  common  round,  from  the  very  soul  work 
at  it  (ipyd^ea-de),  as  to  your  (tm)  Lord  and  not  to  men ; 
put   your   whole    heart    into   it,    as    into    His    will, 

Ver.  24.  "  good,  perfect,  and  acceptable  "  ;  knowing 
that  from  the  Lord  you  will  get,  get  as  your  due 
(aTroXrfyeade),  for  He  has  made  it  your  due  by 
His  gracious  promise  of  it,  the  exact  recompense 
(a  v  t  a-rrohoaiv),  faithfully  measured  out  in  remem- 
brance of  every  item  of  loving  obedience — the  re- 
compense of  the  inheritance,  the  inheritance  of  glory, 
the  eternal  Canaan  of  the  saints.  There  the  slave 
of  man,  so  he  has  lived  the  life  of  the  faithful 
disciple,  shall  be  dealt  with  as  the  heir  of  God. 
His  "recompense"  shall  be  nothing  less  than  the 
"  inheritance "  of  the  heavenly  riches  of  his  Father. 
For  Christ  is  the  Lord  whose  bondservants  you  really 
Ver.  25.     are.2     But  he  who  does  wrong,  who  breaks 


1  Read  h  iav  7roir/re,  omitting  nai  nav. 

2  T<5  Kvpio,  Xpicrrw  SouXeverc :  the  words  are  freely  para- 
phrased in  my  translation.  But  the  point  of  them  is  best 
given  thus;  the  strongest  emphasis  lies  on  the  word  Xpior$, 
and  the  meaning  is  that  whoever  is  outwardly  Kupios  to  the 
Christian  slave,  He  is  the  true  Possessor,  and  will  deal  with 
His  servant  in  His  own  righteous  and  infinitely  generous  way. 


238  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

the  heavenly  Master's  will  by  unfaithfulness  to  the 
earthly  master,  will  receive  a  like  punctual  recom- 
pense of  penalty  for  the  wrong  he  did,  from  the 
heavenly  Master,  in  just  severity ;  and  there  is  no 
partiality  with  Him.  He  will  not  condone  the 
master's  sin  because  he  is  a  master.  But  neither 
will  He  condone  that  of  the  slave,  sinning  against 
his  Christian  light,  because  he  is  a  slave. 

And  now  let  the  other  party  hear  the  same  truth ; 

Ver.  1.  Masters,  (and  they  are  addressed  in  the 
presence  of  their  slaves,  as  both  classes  meet  in 
the  Christian  Assembly,  and  listen  to  the  Epistle,) 
provide  (7rape%ecri9e)  justice  and  equity  for  your  (rols) 
bondservants ;  see  that  they  get  it,  as  regularly  as 
you  "  provide "  food  and  clothes  for  them  ;  utterly 
banishing  caprice,  arbitrary  treatment,  inconsiderate- 
ness,  out  of  your  conduct  towards  them  ;  knowing 
that  you  too  have  a  Master,  a  Lord,  in  heaven.  Yes, 
remember  that  in  all  the  relations  of  life,  above 
all  in  those  which  tempt  you  to  think  yourselves 
sovereign ;  the  result  will  be  no  anarchy,  but  a 
noble  liberty  and  •  friendship,  even  where  slavery 
as  an  external  institution  still  survives.  Let  His 
sovereignty  possess  your  inmost  souls ;  it  will  only 
quicken  your  sense  of  responsible  authority,  but  it 
will  at  the  same  time  keep  out  of  it  effectually  the 
poison  of  the  despotic  spirit. 


SLAVERY    AND    PAGAN    CULTURE  239 

We  have  traversed  thus  this  apostolic  picture 
of  a  Christian  Home.  It  was  written  for 
Colossal,  but  it  was  also  written  for  all  time, 
for  us.  To  be  sure,  one  prominent  part  of 
the  conditions  has  changed  totally  for  us  ; 
English  Christendom  has  long  repudiated  the 
theory  and  the  institution  of  domestic  slavery ; 
to  our  ears  the  very  word  "  slave  "  is  tradition- 
ally abhorrent.  And  this  is  the  direct  work 
of  the  Gospel,  not  of  non-Christian  civilization. 
The  most  advanced  of  the  ancient  civilizations, 
as  we  well  know,  not  only  never  repudiated 
slavery  but  shewed  no  tendency  to  do  so. 
The  genius  and  culture  of  an  Aristotle  only 
lead  him  to  philosophize  upon  the  matter, 
and  to  discuss  the  inmost  nature  of  slavery, 
in  terms  as  ruthless  as  they  are  interesting. 
In  order  to  abolish  slavery,  the  irresponsible 
owning  of  one  human  being  by  another,  it 
was  needful  that  the  Gospel  should  intervene, 
revealing  to  the  world  the  fact  that  God  had 
taken  to  Himself  the  human  nature  which 
was  as  much  the  slave's  nature  as  the  master's  ; 
that  for  slave  as  well  as  master  Christ  had 
died;   that  "all   souls  are    His";    that   in  the 


240  C0L0SSIAN    STUDIES 

Lord  Jesus  the  poorest  and  weakest  becomes 
the  very  child  and  heir  of  God.  Yes,  it  was 
impossible  that  slavery  should  ultimately 
survive  alongside  the  religion  of  Christ  Jesus ; 
though  it  was  no  part  of  the  work  of  that 
religion  to  proclaim  a  social  revolution,  which 
must  have  meant  a  universal  Servile  War,  in 
order  to  realize  its  noble  ideal.1 

Yet  it  is  obvious  that  the  precepts  which 
directly  bear  upon  bondservice  have  a  perfectly 
real  application  by  analogy  to  the  service  of 
free  contract.  For  while  the  servant  (of  what- 
ever grade)  is  free  to  make  or  not  make  the 
contract  to  begin  with,  and  free — as  free  as  the 
master — to  close  it  in  a  lawful  way,  and  while 
his  or  her  ultimate  personal  rights  are  never 
lost  for  a  moment  during  the  time  of  service, 
still  the  contract,  while  it  lasts,  is  a  bond. 
It  is  a  bond  on  the  master  or  mistress  ;  but 
it  is  a  bond  also  on  the  servant.  The  servant 
sells  time,  and  thought,  and  power,  whatever 
it  may  be,  into  the  possession  of  another  for 
that  season  ;    no  doubt    with   large  limits  and 

1  On  the  whole  subject,  see  further  below,  ch.  xiii. 


THE    NOBILITY    OF    TRUE    SERVICE  24 1 

exceptions,  yet  with  a  real  sale.  And  that 
fact  carries  just  enough  analogy  with  the  old 
and  now  justly  impossible  dondservice  to  give 
a  real  point  in  English  life  to  every  appeal 
of  the  Apostle  in  this  passage.  It  gives  his 
words  a  grave  weight  as  they  deal  with  the 
duties  of  service  ;  the  fidelity,  the  heartiness, 
the  recognition  of  the  master's  rights  and 
claims  rather  than  those  of  self.  It  gives 
them  a  weight  yet  greater  as  they  speak  of 
that  relation  to  the  Lord  Jesus  as  the  true 
Master  which  can  dignify,  can  glorify,  the 
smallest  details  of  even  menial  duty  : 

"A  servant  with  this  clause 
Makes  drudgery  divine ; 
Who  sweeps  a  room  as  for  Thy  laws 
Makes  that  and  th'  action  fine." ' 

Yes,  the  domestic  servant  of  our  free  and 
Christian  time  may  read  these  precepts  with 
a  sense  of  not  the  debasement  but  the  exalta- 
tion of  all  true  service. 

And  of  course  the  message  here  given  to 
the  "  masters "   will  come  home  with  at  least 

1  Herbert :  The  Elixir. 

16 


242  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

all  its  original  force  to  the  employer  of  service 
now,  whatever  the  service  be.  On  him,  on 
her,  fully  as  much  as  on  the  "master"  of  the  old 
time,  it  is  laid  to  "  provide  justice  and  equity  " 
for  the  employed.  And  let  them  not  forget 
that  the  literal  rendering  of  the  Apostle's 
words  is  "justice  and  equality."  Yes,  equality, 
not  in  the  Jacobin  sense  of  an  artificial  dgalitd 
which  can  never  be  realized  until  men  have 
given  way  to  manufactured  automatons^  but 
obviously  in  that  of  a  noble  consciousness  on 
both  sides  that  before  God  all  men  are  equal, 
as  bearers  of  that  great  thing,  Human  Nature, 
and  that  as  Christians  they  are  nothing  less 
than  "  one  in  Christ  Jesus."  That  fact  is 
not  meant  to  float  in  the  clouds,  nor  even 
to  be  sung  in  holy  hymns  alone.  It  is  to  be 
lived  into  the  common  domestic  day.  And 
the  result  will  be  not  a  confusion  of  all 
social  relations,  equally  uncomfortable  on  all 
sides,  but  a  generous  and  friendly  mutual 
respect,  in  the  light  of  which  social  variations 
tend  to  lose  all  hardness,  and  can  even  enrich 
and  elevate  life. 

But  let  us  look  again  at    this  picture   of  a 


THE    CHRISTIAN    METHOD    IN    THE    HOME    243 

Christian  Home  as  a  whole.  Observe  the 
perfect  harmony  of  parts  presented  in  it,  and 
the  secret  of  that  harmony.  Here,  grouped 
together  in  a  narrow  space,  constantly  in 
contact,  so  constantly  that  friction  is  only 
too  possible,  are  these  many  parties ;  husband 
and  wife,  parents  and  children,  masters  and 
servants ;  each  pair  of  parties  in  closest  re- 
lationship, but  all  also  more  or  less  touching 
the  others.  And  it  is  the  undertaking  of  the 
Gospel  that  this  domestic  world  shall  be  a 
scene  of  pure  love,  and  happiness,  and  right. 
What  is  the  method  for  the  realization  ?  It 
is  just  this,  that  on  each  party  is  pressed 
home  its  own  duties  and  the  other's  rights. 
The  woman  is  frankly  reminded  of  her 
husband's  leadership,  not  of  her  own  claims 
to  a  concurrent  equality.  The  man  is  re- 
minded of  his  wife's  sacred  right  to  his  love, 
in  all  the  Christian  depth  and  grandeur  and 
duti fulness  of  the  word  "  love  "  ;  nothing  is 
said  to  him  about  the  assertion  of  his  leader- 
ship. The  son  or  daughter  is  commanded, 
without  compromise,  to  obey  ;  not  a  syllable 
is    written    about    the   rights    of    personality, 


244  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

however  immature,  nor  about  excuses  for  dis- 
obedience in  the  possible  harshness  of  elders 
who  cannot  "  understand  the  young."  The 
parent  is  bidden  with  equal  emphasis  to  avoid 
the  miserable  mistake  of  asserting  within  the 
home  "the  right  divine  to  govern  wrong"; 
St  Paul  is  silent  to  him  about  the  maintenance 
of  that  authority  of  which  he  has  so  urgently 
reminded  the  child.  The  servant  is  addressed 
at  length  upon  his  duty  of  entire,  loyal^  un- 
selfish fidelity,  and  upon  the  certainty  of  divine 
penalties  for  failure ;  he  hears  nothing  about 
the  rights  of  man,  nothing  even  about  the 
essential  wrongs  of  slavery.  The  master  hears 
on  his  part  not  a  word  about  his  prerogatives; 
for  him  the  one  paramount  thought  is  that 
he  himself  is,  in  no  mere  sentimental  sense, 
a  bondservant,  and  that  his  bounden  duty  is 
to  see  that  his  bondservants  get  all  their 
rights  fully  at  his  hands  ;  for  inalienable  rights 
they  have  ;  they  are  his  equals  in  the  balance 
of  the  Lord. 

And  is  all  this  mere  rhetoric  ?  Is  it  Utopia, 
ovtoitlgl,  a  scene  that  never  was,  and  never 
will   be  ?      No  ;  because   of  the  Gospel   which 


EUTOPIA    NOT    UTOPIA  245 


underlies   the    whole    thing   as    its    antecedent 
and    condition.       Schemes    of    perfect   human 
concord,  whether  in  the  home  or  in  the  state, 
(and  certainly  in  the  Church,)  which  leave  out 
the  full  Gospel,  are  predestined  failures  ;  they 
forget  sin,  and  ignore   its  remedy  ;    how    can 
they    but  fail,   while  man    is    a   sinner?       But 
St    Paul    approaches     the     Christian      Home 
through    the   fullest    possible    "  truth   as   it   is 
in   Jesus";    and  then   it  becomes   not  Utopia, 
ovtottlol,    the    place  that   is    not,    but    Eutopia, 
evro-rria,   the    happy   place.      A  power    is    then 
introduced    adequate  to   cause    the  happiness ; 
for    "  Christ    in    you,    the     hope    of    glory," 
"  Christ's   peace,    umpire    in    the   heart,"  is    a 
power  which  can  really  make  men  and  women 
habitually   forget    their   rights    and    remember 
their   duties,    on    both    sides,    and    all    round. 
And  then  there  is  happiness  indeed ! 

The  beautiful  ideal  has  been  realized,  from 
the  first.  Shall  we  listen  to  Aristides,  the 
candid  observer  of  the  Christian  life  of  the 
second  century  ?  An  Athenian  philosopher, 
writing  about  the  year  130,  he  is  probably  the 
earliest  of  the  "  Apologists,"   or  defenders  of 


246  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

the  faith  and  life  of  the  Church  before  its 
heathen  critics.  And  he  speaks  from  the 
interesting  standpoint  of  one  who  seems  not 
yet  to  have  identified  himself  formally  with 
the  believers.  His  picture  of  the  brightness 
and  beauty  of  Christian  life,  and  let  me  add 
of  Christian  death,  is  the  more  remarkable  ; 
it  is  the  voice  of  an  observer  more  than  of 
an  advocate.  Let  us  hear  him  as  he  describes 
some  sides  of  Christian  life 1 : — 

"  Now  the  Christians,  O  King,  know  and 
believe  in  God,  the  Maker  of  heaven  and 
earth,  from  whom  they  have  received  those 
commandments  which  they  have  engraved  upon 
their  minds,  which  they  keep,  in  the  hope 
and  expectation  of  the  world  to  come  ;  so  that 
on  this  account  they  do  not  commit  adultery 
nor  fornication,  they  do  not  bear  false  witness, 
they  do  not  deny  a  deposit,  nor  covet  what 
is  not  theirs  ;  they  honour  father  and  mother ; 
their  wives  are  pure  as  virgins,  and  their 
daughters    modest  ;     and    their    men    abstain 

1  I  use  the  excellent  translation'  by  Mrs  Rendel  Harris 
{The  Newly  Recovered  Apology  of  Arts  tides,  Hoddcr  & 
Stoughton,  1891). 


THE    WITNESS    OF   ARISTIDES  247 

from  all  unlawful  wedlock  and  from  all  im- 
purity, in  the  hope  of  the  recompense  that  is 
to  come  in  another  world.  But  as  for  their 
servants  or  handmaids,  or  their  children,  if 
any  of  them  have  any,  they  persuade  them 
to  become  Christians,  for  the  love  that 
they  have  towards  them  ;  and  when  they 
have  become  so,  they  call  them  without  dis- 
tinction brethren.  They  walk  in  all  humility 
and  kindness,  and  falsehood  is  not  found 
among  them ;  and  they  love  one  another. 
They  observe  scrupulously  the  commandments 
of  their  Messiah  ;  every  morning  and  at  all 
hours,  on  account  of  the  goodnesses  of  God 
towards  them,  they  praise  and  laud  Him  ; 
and  over  their  drink  they  render  Him  thanks. 
And  if  any  righteous  person  of  their  number 
passes  away  from  the  world,  they  rejoice  and 
give  thanks  to  God ;  and  they  follow  his 
body  as  if  he  were  moving  from  one  place  to 
another.  And  when  a  child  is  born  to  any 
of  them,  they  praise  God  ;  and  if  again  it 
chance  to  die  in  its  infancy,  they  praise  God 
mightily,  as  for  one  who  has  passed  through 
the  world  without  sins." 


248  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

One  beautiful  sentence,  just  later  than  this 
extract,  I  must  transcribe  for  its  own  sake : 
"  And  because  they  acknowledge  the  good- 
nesses of  God  towards  them,  lo,  on  account 
of  them  there  flows  forth  the  beauty  that  is 
in  the  world." 

It  is  something  to  read  proof,  in  a  passage 
like  this,  that  in  the  sub-apostolic  Church, 
amidst  all  its  defects  and  struggles,  lives  so 
lovely  were  lived,  and  homes  were  to  be 
found — apparently  found  very  often — in  which 
the  ideal  of  the  Apostle  was  so  fully  realized. 
Too  often  our  "Church  History"  seems  little 
but  a  rough  and  sombre  tissue  of  heresies  and 
persecutions.  Happily,  in  spite  of  the  inward 
and  outward  foe,  the  life  hid  with  Christ  in 
God  was  yet  lived  truly,  openly,  widely,  in 
the  old  days. 

But  we  need  not  go  so  far  back  for  our 
illustrations  of  the  Eutopia  of  the  Christian 
home.  Which  of  my  readers  has  not  known 
an  example  ? 

Nowhere,  perhaps,  has  the  beautiful  ideal 
been  so  often  and  so  well  realized  as  in  our 
own  dear  land  in  these  latter  times.     We  live 


HOLY    HOMES    STILL    EXIST  249 

in  a  period  when  Home  is  assailed  from  many 
sides.  The  popular  novel  holds  up  its  sancti- 
ties too  often  to  coarse  unhallowed  criticism. 
The  rush  of  the  age  does  what  it  can  to 
undermine  and  invade  its  borders,  and  mingle 
it  with  the  crowd.  We  sometimes  talk  as  if 
"  the  charm  supreme  of  home's  unbroken 
ring "  were  a  curiosity  of  the  past,  to  be 
analysed  and  admired  as  a  relic,  as  an  old 
picture,  but  out  of  date  as  a  living  thing.  It 
is  not  so.  In  uncounted  instances,  in  quiet 
village,  in  clamorous  city,  the  Christian  Home 
survives,  an  immortal  phenomenon.  Number- 
less parents  exercise  at  this  moment  all  the 
authority  of  wise  love  over  responsive  and 
devoted  sons  and  daughters,  themselves  setting 
in  their  home  the  fair  example  of  an  unvarying, 
tender,  watchful  fidelity  of  affection.  In 
households  far  and  wide  the  master,  the 
mistress,  and  their  domestic  helpers,  hold 
each  other  in  attachment  and  honour,  and 
realize  a  true  identity  of  interests.  But  then, 
these  homes  resemble  those  of  the  first  cen- 
tury, and  the  second,  in  the  fact  that  Jesus 
Christ    is    recognized    as    their    true    Centre ; 


2  50  C0L0SSIAN    STUDIES 

present  and  in  power  alike  in  parlour  and 
kitchen  ;  <(  unseen  Listener  to  every  con- 
versation "  ;  Master  of  each  heart,  and  so 
of  all  the  company ;  causing  each  to  forget 
rights  and  remember  duties  ;  to  live  for 
others  first. 

Happy  those  who  are  permitted  to  form 
part  of  such  a  home,  and,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  to  contribute  to  its  being  what  it  is. 
To  them  it  is  given  not  only  to  taste,  some 
of  the  purest  happiness  on  this  side  the 
sky,  but  to  form  a  reservoir  of  it  for  the 
lives  of  others  all  round.  For  such  a  home 
cannot  by  any  possibility  help  diffusing 
blessings,  temporal  and  eternal,  far  beyond 
itself.  It  is  a  deposit  of  the  very  salt  of 
the  earth. 

But  let  none  of  us  wait  till  in  our  case 
every  one  else  in  the  circle  is  contributing  to 
this  result.  To-day,  just  where  you  are,  do 
you,  Christian  at  Home,  be  doing  your  part 
fully  and  willingly  ;  the  less  apparent  co- 
operation there  is  around  you,  the  more  need 
for  the  gracious  power  to  go  out  from  you. 
And  it  will  go  out  from  you,  husband,  wife, 


LET    US    LIVE   FOR    CHRIST    AT    HOME        25  I 


child,  servant,  mistress,  master,  if  Christ  is 
in  you,  the  hope  of  glory  ;  if  Christ  is  your 
life  ;  if  you,  having  died  with  your  atoning 
Lord,  have  your  life  now  hidden,  with  your 
glorified  Lord,  in  God. 


It  seems  to  have  been  His  custom,  after  spending  the  day  at 
Jerusalem  in  works  01  mercy  or  duties  of  devotion,  t»  retire  in 
the  evening  to  Bethany  to  lodge  in  the  house  of  Martha.  Blessed 
is  that  house  where  Jesus  is  received,  and  where  He  condescends 
to  take  up  His  abode  ;  where  His  presence  is  sought  in  daily  prayer, 
where  master  and  servants,  parents  and  children,  sit  together  at 
the  feet  of  Jesus,  and  hear  His  word. 

Professor  Scholefield. 


252 


LAST    WORDS    ON   PRAYER,    CONDUCT, 

SPEECH:    PERSONAL    MESSAGES: 

PARE  WELL 


253 


The  union  of  Christians  to  Christ,  their  common  Head*,  and,  by 
means  of  the  influence  they  derive  from  Him,  one  to  another,  may 
be  illustrated  by  the  loadstone.  It  not  only  attracts  the  particles 
of  iron  to  itself  by  the  magnetic  virtue,  but  by  this  virtue  it  unites 
them  one  to  another. 

Cecil. 


254 


CHAPTER   XII 

LAST    WORDS    ON    PRAYER,    CONDUCT,    SPEECH  I 
PERSONAL    MESSAGES  :    FAREWELL 

Colossi ans  iv.  2-18 

Ver.  2.  At  your  prayer,  rfj  Trpoaevxfi,  prayer  in  all 
the  width  and  depth  of  its  meaning,  worship  as  well 
as  petition,  persevere;  prayer  is  indeed  a  rest  and 
joy,  but  it  is  also  a  duty,  a  work,  a  ministry,  and  so 
it  calls  for  purpose  and  persistency  ;  watching  in  it, 
keeping  wakeful  "  in "  the  strength  of  the  holy 
exercise,  against  sin  and  for  God,  in  thanksgiving; 
letting  the  spirit  and  action  of  gratitude  as  it  were 
surround  your  watching  and  praying  lives.  Too 
often  is  thanksgiving  forgotten,  especially  when  the 
believer  is  under  trial ;  let  him  recollect  its  precious- 
ness  and  its  power,  and  never  pray  without  it.  If 
there  is  nothing  else  for  which  he  can  give  thanks, 
he  has  always  God  in  Christ,  and  he  has  "  that 
blessed  hope,"  and  he  has  the  trial  itself,  which  is 
sure  to  be  somehow  "precious"  (1  Pet.  i.  7).     And 

255 


256  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

Ver.  3.  do  not  forget  intercession  :  praying  at  the 
same  time  also  for  us,  your  evangelists  and  pastors, 
who  covet  the  aid  of  your  petitions  as  a  true  power 
with  God,  that  our  (6)  God  may  open  to  us  a  door  for 
(lit,  "of")  the  Word,  the  message  of  His  Gospel,  to 
speak  the  Secret  of  our  (rov)  Christ;  the  hidden 
"riches  unsearchable,"  now  disclosed,  which  are  in 
fact  Himself,  His  Person,  Work,  and  Hope ;  on 
account  of  which  Secret,  because  I  have  this  and  not 
a  man-made  doctrine  for  my  message,  and  because 
the  world  does  not  love  it,  I  have  been  bound  with 
the  chain  which  at  this  moment  attaches  me  to  my 

Ver.  4.  Roman  keeper.  Yes,  pray  for  me,  that 
I  may  manifest  it,  may  make  this  Secret  large  and 
plain  to  faith,  even  as  my  duty  is  to  speak  it ;  for 
"  necessity  is  laid  upon  me  ;  yea,  woe  is  unto  me 
if  I  preach  not  the  Gospel." 

Meantime,  as  you  pray,  so  live.  Make  it  the 
whole  purpose   of  your   life  to  "  shine   for   Christ." 

Ver.  5.  In  wisdom,  in  the  holy  practical  good- 
sense  of  sympathy,  humility,  fidelity,  walk,  carry  on 
the  intercourse  of  life,  with  regard  to  (7^69)  those 
who  stand  outside  the  circle  of  faith ;  your  pagan 
neighbours,  who  will  so  surely  watch  the  life  and 
temper  of  those  who  claim  to  have  found  man's 
true  creed.  Take  pains  over  this  ;  buying  out  from 
alien  ownership  the  opportunity.  Be  ready  to  pay 
for  occasions  for  witness  for  your  Lord  ;  pay  watch- 


THE    CHRISTIAN'S    INTERCOURSE  257 


fulness  and  recollection,  and  now  particularly  pay 
the  price  of  careful  thought  how  wisely  as  well  as 
boldly  to  seize  the  hour  for  Him.  Pay  down  the 
gold  of  a  diligent  study  of  the  characters,  the  tastes, 
the  interests,  even  the  prejudices,  of  "  those  who 
stand  outside,"  that  you  may  the  better  win  them 
by  a  witness  which  shall  be  perfectly  courageous 
but  manifestly  considerate  also.  And  when  you 
talk  with  them,  especially  when  you  meet  their 
questions,  perhaps  their  cavils,  about  the  Gospel, 
Ver.  6.  let  your  discourse,  your  account  (X0709)  of 
"the  hope  that  is  in  you,"  be  always  in,  attended 
and  hallowed  by,  the  grace  of  God,  the  loving  power 
of  your  Lord  in  you * ;  seasoned  with  salt,  kept 
wholesome  and  also  pleasant  to  the  taste  by  the 
"  grace "  around  it,  which  shall  banish  utterly  out 
of  it  the  impure  motive  and  debasing  allusion,  and 
make  what  you  say  about  the  Truth  attract  the 
spiritual   appetite   of  the  hearer.^      Such    a   rule   of 


1  Bp  Lightfoot  explains  x<*Pls  nere  by  "  acceptance,  pleasing- 
ness"  ;  a  well-ascertained  use  of  the  word.  But  such  a  mean- 
ing would  have  no  parallel  elsewhere  in  St  Paul. 

2  A  reference  has  been  seen  here,  very  naturally,  to  the 
"salt"  of  humour  and  pleasantry,  which  no  doubt  can  find 
a  lawful  while  guarded  place  in  both  public  and  private 
"talk"  about  the  Gospel.  But  this  use  of  the  word  is  not 
so  common  in  Greek  as  in  Latin.  And  the  Lord's  solemn 
reference  to  the  duty  of  His  disciples  to  "  have  salt  in  them- 
selves" and  to  be  "the  salt  of  the^earth"  gives  a  graver 

17 


258  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

speech  will  lead  to  the  right  way  of  dealing  with 
non-Christian  neighbours  ;  to  know  how  you  ought 
to  answer  each  individual  "  who  asks  you  a  reason 
of  your  hope"  (1  Pet.  iii.  15);  having  intelligent 
regard  to  his  character  and  his  point  of  sight. 

The  primary  reference  of  this  passage,  where 
the  tone  of  conversation  is  in  view,  seems 
(as  I  have  indicated)  to  be  to  "  apologetic " 
conversation,  the  "discourse"  of  the  Christian 
when  he  is  accosted  by  pagan  enquirers  or 
objectors.  The  Apostle's  thought  is  of  the 
right  sort  of  "answer"  ;  and  he  is  anxious 
that  the  converts  should  secure  this  by  a 
watchful  use  of  the  "occasions"  for  witness 
which  are  sure  to  arise,  and  above  all  by 
using  them  in  the  full  and  conscious  possession 
of  "  grace  "  and  with  the  wholesome  "  salt " 
of  candour  and  conciliation.  He.  assumes  that 
every  convert  would  covet  to  be  thus  an 
"  apologist  "  ;  an  expounder  and  vindicator  of 
the  truth,  of  the  Lord,  whom  he  had  found. 
His  life  would  mark  him  out   for  enquiry,   so 


turn  to  the  word  in  apostolic  language.     (See  Matt.  v.  13 ; 
Mark  ix.  49,  50.) 


THE    CHRISTIAN'S    "ANSWER"  259 


different  would  he  be  from  his  old  self.  And 
then  he  must  be  ready  to  avow  why  and  how 
he  was  different.  He  had  found  access  into 
the  peace  and  into  the  love  of  a  God  supreme, 
eternal,  holy.  He  had  discovered  Him  in  a 
Lord  and  Saviour  who  was  at  once  celestial 
and  human.  He  positively  knew  forgiveness 
in  Christ,  and  equally  well  knew  moral  purity 
and  liberty  in  Him,  and  had  received  the 
beginnings  of  heavenly  bliss  in  Him;  Christ 
was  "  in  him,  the  hope  of  glory."  And  this 
Christ  was  ascertainable,  historic.  He  was 
fact  of  earth  as  well  as  truth  of  heaven.  Will 
not  the  enquirer  also  make  proof  of  Him, 
make  adventure  upon  Him,  even  as  his 
neighbour  in  the  same  street  of  Colossal  had 
done,  and  had  found  it  so  good  to  do  ? 

These  "answers  "  would  be  something  very 
different  from  mere  clever  repartees.  But 
they  would  be  totally  different  also  from  mere 
rhapsodies  and  harangues.  They  would  have 
the  pith  and  telling  point  of  personality, 
personal  witness  to  a  Person  and  His  work. 

No  Church  History  can  tabulate  the  extent 
to  which  the  vast  spread   of  primeval    Chris- 


26o  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

tianity  was  due  to  this  local  and  neighbourly- 
evangelism,  in  which  man  told  man,  and 
woman  woman,  in  the  same  little  country- 
town,  what  Christ  was,  and  was  to  them. 
Assuredly  the  work  done  was  vast  and  deep. 
Only,  it  was  vitally  necessary  that  in  order 
to  the  full  power  of  the  witness  the  witnesses 
should,  behind  all  their  "  answers,"  "  continue 
in  prayer  and  watch  in  the  same." 

In  countless  mission-stations  of  Africa,  Asia, 
and  America  that  work  is  still  going  on. 
But  not  there  only.  In  regions  nominally 
most  Christian  there  are  still  the  Church  and 
the  World  ;  just  as  it  was  of  old  in  regions 
most  Jewish,  most  Mosaic.  There  is  still 
the  call  to  the  Christian  who  really  has  found 
"  the  Secret  of  the  Lord "  to  live  a  true 
witness-life,  and  to  "  know  how  to  answer 
every  man."  Still  must  the  disciple  seek  to 
live  so  that  others,  strangers  to  his  bright, 
sacred  talisman,  shall  care  to  know  what  it 
is,  and   shall  ask  what  it  is,   sooner  or  later.1 

1  As  I  write  (1898),  a  friend  tells  me  of  one  known  to  him, 
totally  sceptical  while  not  unwilling  to  listen  to  Christian 
witness,    but  just   now   stumbled   by   the   listless  air  of  a 


TYCHICUS   AND    HIS    MESSAGE  .       26 1 

Still  must  he  "  continue  in  prayer,  and  watch 
in  the  same  with  thanksgiving,"  and  "  buy 
out  the  opportunity,"  and  "  walk  in  wisdom 
as  regards  those  who  stand  outside  "  the  happy 
circle  of  conscious  faith  and  peace.  Still  must 
he  see  that  his  "  word,"  when  they  give  him 
the  chance  of  speaking  it,  is  the  word  of 
grace,  and  of  salt.  Let  us  arise,  and  shine, 
and  awake  to  the  duties  and  joys  of  witness. 
But  the  Apostle  hastens  now  to  a  close : 

Ver.  7.  My  position  generally  (to  kclt  e'//,e  rrrdvra) 
shall  be  reported  to  you  by  Tychicus,1  that  (6)  beloved 
brother  and  faithful  worker2  and  fellow-bondservant  in 
the  Lord ;  true  comrade  of  that  other  Asian  saint,  Epa- 

Ver.  8.     phras,  similarly  described  above  (i.  7).    Him 

Christian  congregation  in  Church.    "  Can  these  '  Christians  ' 
possess  any  secret  better  than  my  reason  gives  me  ?  " 

1  I  put  the  verb  into  the  passive,  to  preserve  the  order  of 
the  words. — "Tychicus  is  named  also  Acts  xx.  4;  2  Tim.  iv. 
12  ;  Tit.  iii.  12.  He  appears  to  have  belonged  to  the  province 
of  Asia  and  probably  to  Ephesus.  He  was  evidently  loved 
and  honoured  by  the  Apostle ;  was  beside  him  ...  in  his 
first  imprisonment ;  and  was  faithful  to  the  end.  His  name, 
though  not  common,  occurs  on  inscriptions  and  on  coins  be- 
longing to  Asia  Minor"  (Note  in  Camb.  Bible  for  Schools,  etc.). 

2  Aidnovos  by  usage  denotes  subordination  as  well  as 
activity.  But  we  can  scarcely  convey  this  in  one  English 
word. 


262  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

I  am  sending1  to  you  for  the  express  purpose  that 
you  may  know  (read  yvwre)  our  (read  rj/xcov)  circum- 
stances, and  that  he  may  encourage  your  hearts,  with 
the  strengthening  7rapdic\r]at<i  of  Christian  fellowship 
and  personal  witness.  And  he  does  not  go  alone  ; 
Ver.  9.  I  send  him  with  Onesimus,  that  (tw)  faithful 
and  beloved  brother,  who  belongs  to  you,  a  Colossian 
like  yourselves  ;  who  "  departed  from  you  for  a 
season  that  you  may  receive  him  for  ever " 2 ;  all 
the  things  going  on  here  they  will  report  to  you. 

And  what  eager  questioning  there  would 
be,  in  the  Asian  town,  in  the  assembly  gathered 
in  Philemon's  great  room  !  How  much  there 
would  be  to  ask,  about  Paul's  health  and 
comparative    comfort,    about    the    prospect    of 


1  "E7re/x\//-a :  "  I sent"  But  the  epistolary  idiom  speaks  from 
the  point  of  view  of  the  recipient  of  the  letter.  The  Colossians 
when  Tychicus  came  would  say,  "The  Apostle  sent  you"; 
so  the  Apostle  writes,  "  I  sent  him."     Our  idiom  is  otherwise. 

2  We  observe  that  to  the  Church  at  large  St  Paul  says 
nothing  about  Onesimus'  delinquency  and  recovery,  and  his 
legal  position.  That  is  reserved  for  the  private  letter  to 
Philemon.  What  he  does  say  to  the  Church  is  not  only  a 
warm  testimony  to  what  grace  had  made  Onesimus,  but  an 
indication  of  what  the  fellowship  of  those  early  converts  was, 
knowing  "neither  bond  nor  free."  It  shews  too  how  fully 
he  reckoned  on  Philemon's  Christian  action. — See  further, 
chapters  xiii.  and  xiv. 


SALUTATIONS  263 


his  acquittal,  about  the  hope  of  his  coming 
yet  at  length  to  Colossae,  above  all  about  the 
work  of  the  Lord  at  Rome ! 

But  the  salutations  have  to  be  duly  conveyed 
now : 

Ver.  10.  There  greets  you  Aristarchus,  my  fellow- 
captive,  my  fellow-prisoner  in  the  Gospel  war 
(aruvai'xfjLd\Q)TO<i,  not  merely  avvBeafAios),1  and 
Marcus  the  cousin  (avey\n6<;)  of  Barnabas 2 ;  about  whom 

1  Aristarchus  is  probably  the  man  named  Acts  xix.  29,  xx. 
4,  xxvii.  2.  If  so,  he  was  of  Thessalonica.  He  was  seized 
by  the  rioters  at  Ephesus  ;  an  incident  to  which  perhaps  the 
word  o-vi/aix/xdX&rro?  refers.  Later,  he  returned  with  St  Paul 
from  Greece  to  Asia,  and  ultimately  sailed  with  him  from 
Syria  to  Rome. 

2  Named  also  (we  may  assume  the  identity  throughout) 
Acts  xii.  12,  25  (cp.  xiii.  5,  13),  xv.  $7,  39;  2  Tim.  iv.  11; 
Philem.  24  ;  1  Pet.  v.  13.  St  Peter  calls  him  "  my  son,"  pro- 
bably in  a  spiritual  sense.  In  the  Acts,  he  accompanied  and 
then  left  Paul  and  Barnabas  when  they  visited  Cyprus  and 
Asia  Minor ;  seven  years  later,  after  the  separation  of  the 
Apostles,  he  attended  Barnabas  to  Cyprus.  Now,  nine  or 
ten  years  later  again,  he  is  the  trusted  helper  of  St  Paul,  and 
later  again  is  with  Peter  at  Babylon.  Perhaps  still  later,  in 
St  Paul's  last  imprisonment,  he  is  wanted  by  the  great 
Apostle  as  "useful  for  personal  service." — Tradition,  begin- 
ning as  early  as  the  second  century,  makes  him  the  writer  of 
the  Second  Gospel,  in  some  connexion  with  Peter  (Eusebius, 
Hist.  Eccl.,  iii.  39).  Later  tradition  makes  him  founder  of 
the  Alexandrian  Church. 


264  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

you  received  orders,  on  a  previous  occasion  ;  if  he 
should  come  to  you,  as  he  may  do,  for  he  is  probably 
to  visit  Asia,  give  him  welcome  ;  he  is  again,  after 
days  of  difficulty  long  past,  in   my  full  confidence 

Ver.  11.  and  affection.  And  Jesus  too,  Joshua,  who 
is  known  as  (6  \ey6/u,evos)  Justus,1  greets  you.  They, 
Aristarchus,  Marcus,  Justus,  belong  to  the  Circum- 
cision ;  of  Jewish  faith  originally,  not  pagans.  And 
of  that  large  circle  of  converts,  here  at  Rome,  they 
stand  alone  in  their  fidelity  to  me  and  the  Truth  ; 
the  "  Circumcision  "  generally  have  taken  the  attitude 
of  opposition  2 ;  these  men  alone  are  co-workers  with 
me  in  the  promotion  of  (eh)  the  kingdom  of  God,  His 
reign  in  Christ  over  man  ;  proving  to  me,  as  they 
have  done  (oiWe?  iyevrfdrjaav),  a  comfort,  a  solace  to 
my  heart  wounded  by  many  alienations  and  oppo- 
sitions in  that  very  quarter. 

Ver.  12.  There  greets  you  further  Epaphras,  who 
belongs   to  you,3  bondservant   of  Christ  Jesus.      And 


1  We  know  nothing  more  of  this  disciple.  His  first  name, 
it  is  well  known,  is  the  Grecized  form  of  Jehoshua,  "Jehovah's 
Help."  His  second  (Latin)  name  was  in  common  use  among 
Jews  and  proselytes,  to  denote  the  "Righteous"  follower  of 
the  Law. 

3  Cp.  Phil.  i.  15,  16. — My  paraphrase  is  of  course  a  con- 
jectural exposition.  But  something  of  the  sort  seems  neces- 
sary to  explain  the  strong  assertion,  ovtoi  /xovoi. 

3  See  above,  on  i.  7. 


WRESTLING    EPAPHRAS  265 

his  bondservice  shews  itself  now  in  his  toil  of  soul 
for  you ;  always  wrestling  on  your  behalf  in  his  (rals) 
prayers,  resolved,  like  the  patriarch  of  old,  not  to 
"  let  the  Lord  go  except  He  bless "  you  ;  that  you 
may  stand  fast,  perfect,  whole-hearted,  impartially 
loyal,  and  fully  assured,  sure  of  your  ground  and  of 
your  path,  of  your  Master  and  of  His  call,  in  every 
will  of  God,  in  every  part  of  His  will,  every  detail, 
leaving  nothing  neglected  and  undone  which  is  for 
Ver.  13.  you  His  will.  For  I  bear  him  witness  that 
he  takes  great  pains  (read  ttovov),  in  this  labour  on 
his  knees,  on  behalf  of  you  and  of  the  friends  at 
Laodicea  and  of  those  at  Hierapolis ;  the  other  mission- 
stations  of  your  river-valley. 

May  our  Master  grant  more  followers  of 
Epaphras  to  His  Church.  We  live  in  a 
period  which  sees,  amidst  much  to  deplore,  an 
infinity  of  loving  and  elaborate  "painstaking" 
in  the  work  of  the  Gospel,  whether  in  our 
home  Christendom  or  far  away.  The  air  of 
Christian  life  resounds,  it  is  sometimes  almost 
agitated,  by  the  abundance  of  operations, 
organized  or  not,  for  every  imaginable  purpose 
of  good.  But  it  is  to  be  much  feared  that 
the  "wrestling"  and  the  "painstaking"  of 
Epaphras    are    not    abundant    in    proportion ; 


266  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

and  we  cannot  possibly  do  without  them. 
Let  us  pray  that  we  may  pray.  Let  us  give 
our  hearts  no  rest  till  we  know  what  it  is  to 
do  what  Epaphras  did  for  the  converts  of 
the  Lycus  valley.  He  bore  their  souls  upon 
his  soul.  He  yearned  with  the  deepest 
longing  that  they  might  be  holy  in  the  sense 
of  a  single-hearted  and  thorough  loyalty  to 
the  Lord.  And  he  carried  this  yearning 
continually  and  urgently  to  God  in  £hrist, 
resolved  to  reach  Colossian  lives  by  way  of  the 
Throne.  Shall  not  each  of  us  begin,  or  begin 
anew,  the  same  "painstaking,"  for  home  and 
household,  for  parish,  for  church,  for  school,  for 
college,  for  mission,  for  the  Christian  world  ? 

Yet  again  the   greetings    of  the   saints   are 
to  be  given  : 

Ver.  14.     There  greets  you  Lucas,  Lucanus,1  the  phy- 

1  "It  is  interesting  to  find  the  Second  and  Third  Evan- 
gelists in  one  small  group  around  St  Paul  here.  Cp.  Philem. 
24  ;  2  Tim.  iv.  11. — Lucas  had  accompanied  St  Paul  to  Rome  ; 
so  the  lzve,'  'z^y,'  etc.,  of  Acts  xxvii.,  xxviii.,  implies.  .  .  .  He 
appears  again  in  2  Tim.  iv.  11  as  the  one  personal  attendant 
of  the  Apostle  in  his  last  imprisonment.  Tradition,  vaguely 
supported  at  the  best,  says  that  he  was  born  at  Antioch  in 
Syria ;   that  he  was  one  of  the  Seventy ;    that  he  was  the 


LAODICEA  267 


sician  so   dear   to   me   (6    laTpbs  6  aya7rr)r6<;)11  loved 
and  loveable,  tender  and  true ;  and  Demas.2 

There  are    some   further   salutations,   to  be 
passed  on  from  Colossse  : 

Ver.  15.  Greet  the  brethren  at  Laodicea,  (only  twelve 
miles  away,)  and  Nymphas,  Nymphodorus,  the  leading 
Christian  there,3  and  the  Church  at  their  (read  avrcov) 


anonymous  disciple  of  the  Walk  to  Emmaus ;  or,  on  the 
contrary,  that  he  was  a  convert  of  St  Paul's.  .  .  .  Lightfoot 
points  out  that  he  appears  here  as  not' of  the  circumcision,' 
and  therefore  as  a  Gentile ;  and  that  this  is  '  fatal '  to  the 
tradition  that  he  was  one  of  the  Seventy"  (Note  in  Camb. 
Bible  for  Schools,  etc.). 

1  " '  Indications  of  medical  knowledge  have  been  traced 
both  in  the  Third  Gospel  and  in  the  Acts '  (Dr  F.  W.  Farrar). 
.  .  .  '  St  Luke's  first  appearance  in  company  with  St  Paul 
(Acts  xvi.  10)  nearly  synchronizes  with  an  attack  of  the 
Apostle's  constitutional  malady  (Gal.  iv.  13,  14),  so  that  he 
may  [then]  have  joined  him  partly  in  a  professional  capacity. 
...  St  Paul's  motive  in  specifying  him  as  the  physician  may 
have  been  to  emphasize  his  own  obligations  to  his  medical 
knowledge.  The  tradition  that  St  Luke  was  a  painter  is 
quite  late  (Lightfoot)"  (Note  in  Camb.  Bible,  etc.). — Dr  Farrar 
remarks  that  to  St  Luke  alone  we  are  indebted  for  all  we 
know  ab  extra  about  St  Paul. 

2  It  is  impossible  not  to  notice  the  reserved  brevity  of  this 
mention.  Was  Demas  already  showing  signs  of  the  spirit 
which  came  out  later,  2  Tim.  iv.  10? 

3  We  may  fairly  assume  that  he  was  the  Philemon  of 
Laodicea. 


268  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

house,  the  congregation  meeting  where  he  and  his 
family  dwell,  the  gathered  converts  of  that  district 
Ver.  16.  of  the  large  city.1  And  when  this  (rj) 
Letter  shall  have  been  read  where  you  are,  in  your 
meeting  at  Colossas,  take  care  (iroi^a-are)  that  it  be 
read  in  the  Laodieeans'  Church-assembly  also,  (for  it 
>  touches  upon  needs  and  perils  which  are  rife  with 
them  as  well  as  you ;)  and  take  care  that  the  Letter 
from  Laodicea,  the  Letter  which  will  be  forwarded 
on  to  you  from  thence,  you  also  read;  it  will  sup- 
plement this  more  personal  message  to  yourselves, 
developing  its  teaching  about  the  Lord,  and  adding 
other  matter  with  it. 

It  is  more  than  likely  that  this  "  Epistle 
from  Laodicea  "  is  none  other  than  our  familiar 
"  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians."  That  Epistle, 
as  it  is  well  known,  has  been  thought  to  be 
rather  a  Circular  to  the  Asian  Churches  than 
a  missive  to  the   Ephesians   in  particular.     It 


1  For  similar  "Churches  in  a  house"  cp.  Rom.  xvi.  5; 
1  Cor.  xvi.  19 ;  Philem.  2. — Possibly  the  house  of  Nymphas 
was  the  one  meeting-place  at  Laodicea ;  if  so,  the  converts 
of  the  city  are  here  greeted  first  individually,  then  as  in 
assembly.  But  Laodicea  was  so  considerable  a  place  that 
the  house  mentioned  may  have  been  only  the  chief  place  for 
worship. 


"THE   EPISTLE   FROM    LAODICEA "  269 


is    devoid    of    personal    and    local     allusions, 
though  Ephesus  was  the  scene   of  St    Paul's 
longest  pastorate  ;  it  treats  altogether  of  grand 
general  aspects  of  truth  ;  and  in  the  first  verse 
of  the  Epistle   the  words  "  at    Ephesus "   are 
absent  from  some  important  ancient  documents. 
To  my  own  mind  no  theory  of  that    Epistle 
is  so   reasonable  as  that  which  regards   it   as 
«  sent  to  Ephesus  in  trust  for  all  the  missions 
of  the    Province."     If  so,  it   would   naturally 
find  its  way  ere  long  to  the  great   centre  of 
the    Lycus   region,    Laodicea,   and    only    from 
thence  would  be  forwarded  to  the  minor  and 
more  remote    Colossi.      Once   so   forwarded, 
it  would  have  the  strongest  possible  claim  to 
be  read  at    Colossae  in  close   connexion   with 
the    more    local    Letter.       Where     the     two 
coincide,  as  they  do  so  interestingly  in  many 
places,  there  would  always  be  some  instructive 
nuance  of  difference  in  the  expression.      And 
on   the   supreme   topic    of  the   Work    of  the 
Holy    Spirit,  Colossse   would  have  everything 
to  hear  from  "  the  Epistle  from  Laodicea." 

One  solemn  personal   message  remained  to 
be    delivered.       It    concerned    an    individual, 


270  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

called  by  name  ;  very  probably  the  son  of 
the  honoured  Philemon  and  of  Apphia  his 
wife  (see  Philem.  2) ;  a  newly  ordained  minister, 
it  would  seem,  in  the  Church  of  Colossse,  or, 
as  some  have  thought,1  of  Laodicea.  Perhaps 
the  Apostle  had  misgivings  about  the  young 
pastor's  entire  devotion.  Or  he  may  have 
desired  only  to  impress  on  him  the  sacredness 
of  his  charge  as  soon  as  possible  after  his 
entrance  on  it.  For  Archippus  may;  have 
been  ordained  to  fill  the  vacant  place  of 
Epaphras,  lately  withdrawn  to  Rome,  and  the 
yearnings  of  Epaphras  over  his  beloved  flock 
may  have  prompted  the  words.  However, 
they  stand  here  written  ;  a  message  for  all 
time  to  all  who  dare  to  undertake  the  pastorate 
of  souls  ;  a  warning,  solemn  as  eternity,  not 
to  do  anything  with  their  commission  short 
of  its  "  fulfilment," 

Ver.  17.    And  say  to  Archippus,  See  to  the  ministry2 

1  But  this  is  not  probable.  The  message  would  scarcely 
have  been  given  to  him  through  Colossce  when  he  was  at 
work  some  miles  away. 

2  AiaKoi/'ta  :  the  word  does  not  necessarily  mean  an  ordained 
pastoral  ministry.     But  the  context  is  all  in  favour  of  such 


ARCHIPPUS  271 


which  you  received,  7rape\a/3e<?,  received  in  trans- 
mission, in  the  Lord,  in  union  with  Him  for  His 
work,  that  you  fill  it  full.  Take  it  as  it  were  a 
vessel  into  which  is  to  be  poured  all  your  life,  all 
your  powers.  Act  up  to  it  all  round.  In  private 
conduct,  in  public  diligence  and  fidelity,  in  wit- 
nessing, teaching,  everything,  let  the  circle  of 
your  "  works  "  be  "  found  perfect  before  God  "  (see 
Rev.  iii.  2). 

"  A  minister  of  Christ,"  says  that  pregnant 
Christian  thinker,  Richard  Cecil,  "  is  often  in 
highest  honour  with  men  for  the  performance 
of  one  half  of  his  work,  while  God  is  regarding 
him  with  displeasure  for  the  neglect  of  the 
other  half." 

"  Enter  not  into  judgment  with  Thy  servant, 
O  Lord."  "  Take  heed  to  thy  ministry,  O 
Archippus,  to  fill  it  full." 

Then  at  last  the  Apostle  takes  the  pen 
from  the  hand  of  his  amanuensis,  to  add   the 


a  reference ;  the  BiaKovla  is  evidently  one  highly  sacred  and 
distinctive.— There  is  no  necessary  reference  to  the  "  dia- 
conate"  specially.  The  word  is  a  largely  inclusive  one. 
Archippus  appears  to  have  been  the  pastor  of  the  flock  in 
question. 


272  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

accustomed  autograph  (cp.  Rom.  xvi.  22  ; 
2  Thess.  iii.  17)  at  the  close,  the  token  of 
affection  and  the  guarantee  of  authenticity. 
As  he  does  so,  the  long  chain  which  fastens 
him  to  the  warder  makes  itself  felt  and  heard ; 
and  with  this  comes  up  to  his  soul  all  that 
it  means,  the  afflictions  of  the  Gospel,  the 
glory  of  being  the  suffering  witness  to  his 
Lord  ;  and  the  Colossians  shall  remember  it 
too,  and  help  him  in  it  with  their  prayers. 

Ver.  18.    The  greeting,  by  my  hand,  Paul's.     Recollect 
my  chains.     Grace  be  with  you. 

Perhaps  in  large  and  laborious  characters 
(he  refers  to  his  "  large  letters,"  to  the 
Galatians,  7n?\iKcus  ypa/A/xacn,  Gal.  vi.  11)  the 
lines  were  traced,  by  the  dim-sighted  writer. 
But  large  or  small,  they  were  the  greeting  of 
a  mighty  human  heart,  filled  with  the  Spirit 
of  God,  His  chosen  Vessel ;  a  heart  through 
which  the  Inspirer  had  now  poured  this 
precious  Oracle  of  truth  and  holiness,  the 
Letter  to  Colossae,  which  is  now  "  the  Letter 
from  LColossae,"  God's  own  Circular  to  our 
hearts. 


THE    MESSAGE   OF    THE    EPISTLE  273 

Here  we  leave  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians. 
In  imagination  we  watch  the  scroll  carefully 
dried,  and  rolled,  and  tied,  and  sealed,  and  put 
into  the  loving  care  of  Tychicus,  and  in  due 
time  carried  by  him  over  sea  and  land  to  the 
valley  of  the  Lycus,  to  those  readers  now  so 
long  departed.  "  The  grass  withereth,  the 
flower  fadeth  "  ;  but  not  in  the  fields  of  the 
Word  of  God.  There  the  pasturage  is  green 
every  month,  and  the  celestial  flowers,  growing 
from  roots  "  fast  by  the  fount  of  life,"  are  all 
amaranths.  Our  "Studies"  have  dealt  with 
a  subject-matter  "  which  liveth  and  abideth 
for  ever,"  for  it  is  nothing  short  of  Jesus 
Christ.  In  the  Epistle  before  us  we  have 
been  all  along  "considering  Him."  He  has 
been  the  answer  to  every  question,  whether 
of  truth  or  of  life.  We  have  gazed  upon  the 
majesty  of  His  Person,  on  the  mysterious 
glory  of  His  Headship  alike  over  Nature 
and  over  the  Church,  on  His  redeeming 
blood,  on  His  life-giving  life,  on  His  enthroned 
rest  above,  on  His  promised  return.  We 
have  seen  in  Him  the  inmost  "  Secret  of 
God,"    disclosed    for    us.      We   have    had   a 

18 


274  COLOSSIAN    STUDIES 

glimpse  of  the  pure  eternal  gold  of  "the 
treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge  "  heaped 
and  stored  in  Him,  yes,  of  "  all  the  fulness 
of  the  Godhead,  dwelling  body-wise  in  Him." 
We  have  seen  Him  as  the  mighty  Basis  of 
the  Christian's  standing ;  He  has  blotted  out 
the  handwriting  that  was  against  us,  nailing 
it  to  His  Cross  ;  He  has  embodied  us  into 
Himself.  He  is  at  once  the  Power  and  the 
Law  of  the  Christian  life ;  He  is  the  Peace 
of  the  Christian  heart ;  He  is  the  Lamp  and 
Hearth  of  the  Christian  home.  It  is  He 
who  binds  souls  together,  or  rather  as  it 
were  fuses  them  into  one,  till  people  as  distant 
as  possible  in  race  and  associations,  like  Paul 
and  Onesimus,  know  and  love  each  other 
as  more  than  brothers.  He  is  all  things, 
and  in  all. 

As  then,  so  now.  He  is  "  the  Lord  of 
Time,"  being  the  Son  Eternal.  So  we  and 
the  Colossians  are  neighbours  and  contem- 
poraries— in  Him.  To  our  questions  too 
He  is  the  answer ;  the  peace  of  our  con- 
sciences, the  power  and  purity  of  our  spirits, 
the  light  and  life  of  our  homes,   the  star  and 


AS    THEN,    SO    NOW  275 

sun  of  our  everlasting  hope.  The  old  page 
lives  to  us,  and  understands  us,  and  converses 
with  us,  "  in  the  heart  of  Jesus  Christ." 

Whatever  be  our  Colossae,  it  is  a  place 
of  peace  and  gladness.  For  we,  like  our 
brethren  gone  before,  are  in  Colossae  indeed, 
but  also,  wonderful  fact,  "  in  Jesus  Christ." 


He  help'd  His  saints  in  ancient  days 
Who  trusted  in  His  Name; 

And  we  can  witness  to  His  praise, 
His  love  is  still  the  same. 

His  presence  sweetens  all  our  cares, 
And  makes  our  burdens  light; 

A  word  from  Him  dispels  our  fears, 
And  gilds  the  gloom  of  night. 

Newton. 


276 


THE    EPISTLE    TO    PHILEAION. 
INTRODUCTORY 


277 


Grace  makes  the  slave  a  freeman.     Tis  a  change 

That  turns  to  ridicule  the  turgid  speech 

And  stately  tones  of  moralists,  who  boast, 

As  if,  like  him  of  fabulous  renown, 

They  had  indeed  ability  to  smooth 

The  shag  of  savage  nature,  and  were  each  » 

An  Orpheus,  and  omnipotent  in  song  : 

But  transformation  of  apostate  man 

From  fool  to  wise,  from  earthly  to  divine, 

Is  work  for  Him  that  made  him.    He  alone, 

And  He  by  means  in  philosophic  eyes 

Trivial  and  worthy  of  disdain,  achieves 

The  wonder;  humanizing  what  is  brute 

In  the  lost  kind,  extracting  from  the  lips 

Of  asps  their  venom,  overpowering  strength 

By  weakness,  and  hostility  by  love. 

Cowper. 


278 


CHAPTER    XIII 

THE    EPISTLE    TO    PHILEMON  :    INTRODUCTORY 

ALONG  with  the  Letter  to  the  Colossians 
as  a  body  there  went  what  we  should 
now  call  a  Note  to  one  of  them  as  an  in- 
dividual. Philemon,  a  convert  of  some  wealth 
and  social  standing,  as  we  gather  from  the 
allusions  to  his  extended  beneficence,  was 
the  person  addressed.  The  matter  of  the 
communication  was  in  itself  purely  domestic  ; 
it  was,  the  return  to  him,  after  intercourse 
with  St  Paul  at  Rome,  of  a  fugitive  slave, 
Onesimus. 

In  all  probability  Onesimus  would  be  him- 
self the  bearer  of  the  note,  as  his  own  passport 
to  his  master's  indulgence — to  his  more  than 
indulgence,  to  his  welcome  and  to  his  love 
in     Christ,    if    the    Lord    should    speed    the 

message. 

279 


2  80  THE   EPISTLE    TO   PHILEMON 

From  some  obvious  points  of  view,  we  may 
even  wonder  that  such  a  private  note  should 
have  taken  its  place  among  the  holy  Scriptures, 
presenting  itself  now  for  citation  as  an  oracle 
of  God.  That  it  did  so  find  place  in  the 
Canon,  very  early  indeed,  is  certain  :  evidence 
is  ample  that  it  was  there  long  before  the 
close  of  the  second  century,  when  even  the 
free-thinker  Marcion  admitted  it  into  his 
"  expurgated  "  list  of  Epistles.  Origea,  early 
in  the  third  century,  quotes  ver.  9  and  ver.  14 
as  Scripture.  It  is  possible  that  in  the  Epistles 
of  Ignatius,  quite  early  in  the  second  century, 
traces  of  its  influence  on  phraseology  are  to 
be  seen. 

This  is  the  more  remarkable  because  the 
surprise  I  have  referred  to,  the  wonder  that 
such  a  writing  should  rank  as  a  Scripture, 
was  widely  felt  in  ancient  Christendom.  About 
the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century  (was  it  a 
sign  of  deterioration  in  the  Christian  instincts 
of  that  day,  when  the  old  simplicity  of  the 
Church  had  suffered  much  from  its  external 
prosperity  ?)  we  find  such  feelings  alluded  to 
by  Chrysostom  the  preacher,  and  Jerome  the 


A    DEPRECIATED    EPISTLE  28 1 

student.  Jerome  says  that  "  some  will  have 
it  that  it  is  not  Paul's ;  others,  that  it  has 
nothing  in  it  for  our  edification  "  ;  and  some 
thought  that  it  was  written  by  the  Apostle  at 
a  moment  when  he  was  "  not  the  organ  of 
Christ's  voice  in  him."  Chrysostom,  with 
characteristic  fervour,  denounces  those  who 
think  the  Epistle  unworthy  of  Scriptural  rank, 
11  as  concerned  about  so  small  a  matter,  and 
on  behalf  of  an  individual  only." 

A  curious  hint  of  such  a  feeling  is  given, 
if  I  am  right,  in  the  "  title  "  of  one  of  the 
Greek  manuscripts  of  the  Epistle.1  As  we 
have   it,  that  title  runs, 

IlauXos  eVtcrTeXXet  raSe  /3e/3cua  $i\r}fiovi  marco  : 

that  is  to  say,  "  Paul  writes  these  sure  words 
as  a  letter  to  faithful  Philemon."  But  is  this 
the  original  form  of  the  title  ?  The  Greek 
strongly  suggests  the  rhythm  of  a  hexameter 
verse ;  it  begins  and  it  ends  metrically,  only 
breaking    down    in    the   word    fieficua,    which 

1  Preserved  at  Lambeth.  The  copy  dates  from  cent.  xii. 
only,  but  may  of  course  transmit  a  "title"  originating  long 
before  that  time. 


282  THE   EPISTLE   TO    PHILEMON 

refuses  to  scan.       But    suppose   we   drop   the 
first  syllable  of  that  word,  and  read, 

we  then  have  a  perfect   line.      And   what   is 
its  meaning  ?     To  render  it  in  its  own  metre — 

"  Paul    on   a   trifling   theme  thus  writes    to    the    faithful 
Philemon." 

The  change,  when  it  once  occurred  to  me, 
(it  may  have  occurred  to  others  before,)  secerned 
self-evidently  right.  And  thus  there  appeared, 
strange  to  say,  in  the  very  manuscript,  a 
depreciation  of  the  Epistle  ;  the  scribe's  mind, 
like  the  minds  so  severely  censured  by  St 
Chrysostom,  could  see  only  a  triviality  in 
the  case  of  a  runaway  Phrygian  slave  !  Then 
came  some  wiser  and  more  Christian  copyist 
on  his  track,  and  with  two  strokes  of  the 
pen  changed  "  trifling  "  into  "  sure,"  /3cua  into 
/3e/3cua — but  to  the  ruin  of  the  metre! 

Such  an  undercurrent  of  disfavour  as 
Jerome,  and  Chrysostom,  and  this  title,  in- 
dicate, makes  the  place  of  the  Epistle  in 
the  Canon  only  the  more  remarkable  and  the 
more  secure.     It  was  not  for  nothing  that  the 


HOW    THE    "NOTE"    WAS    MADE   PUBLIC      283 

little  document,  offering  to  many  minds  in 
the  old  world  such  a  mark  for  criticism,  was 
included  by  the  Church  in  the  Pauline  cata- 
logue, and  never  even  for  a  time  displaced. 
It  would  be  interesting  in  the  extreme  to 
know  by  what  process  it  first  found  its  way 
there  ;  but  who  can  tell  us  now  ?  We  can 
only  suppose  that  in  the  first  place  the 
private  note  was  made  public  r  to  the  Church 
by  Philemon  ;  this  indeed  must  have  been 
the  case  ;  and  it  would  be  a  noble  evidence 
of  the  sympathy  of  spirit  with  which  Philemon 
received  his  Teacher's  letter.  Then,  surely, 
in  that  community  so  full  of  the  life  and  love 
of  Christ,  the  sacred  truth  as  well  as  exquisite 
beauty  of  the  letter  was  at  once  recognized, 
and  its  bearing  upon  the  whole  range  of 
the  charities  of  Christian  life.  It  approved 
itself,  probably  without  the  least  demur,  as  not 
merely  a  personal  but  an  apostolic  message 
to  Colossae  ;  and  so  in  time  the  Churches  of 
Asia  would  come  to  know  it,  and  so  the 
Church  universal. 

Thanks    be    to    God   for    the    fact    of    its 
presence,  now  and  for  ever,  in  "  the  Scriptures 


284  THE   EPISTLE   TO    PHILEMON 

of  Truth."  As  I  have  said,  it  is  easy  to 
imagine  the  surprise  which,  we  have  seen,  was 
felt  about  it  here  and  there.  But  who  that 
has  penetrated  one  step  into  the  spirit  of  the 
Gospel  does  not  feel  that  such  surprise  is  at 
best  a  shallow  and  surface  feeling,  and  gives 
way  at  once  to  a  sense  as  deep  as  possible 
of  the  fitness  and  divine  significance  of  the 
Epistle  as  Scripture  ?  Is  there  not  a  manifest 
providence  in  it  as  such  ?  Put  aside  for  the 
moment  its  high  literary  beauty,  which  alone 
may  make  us  rejoice  over  its  reverent  preserva- 
tion. Had  it  been  expressed  as  uncouthly  as 
it  has  been  in  fact  expressed  with  consummate 
tact  and  charm,  still  it  would  have  been 
eloquent  of  the  will  of  God,  of  the  mind  of 
Christ.  Nothing  could  more  perfectly  have 
illustrated  the  faculty  of  the  heavenly  Gospel 
to  adjust  its  principles  to  the  minutest  details 
of  human  relative  duty  ;  to  shew  it  in  action 
as  at  the  same  moment  constraining  the 
conscience  and  opening  the  heart ;  whispering 
to  every  person  in  a  domestic  circle,  "  Do 
right,  here  and  now,  in  everything,"  and  in 
that    very   whisper   making    them   all    feel    a 


ANCIENT   SLAVERY  285 

oneness  of  interest  and  affection  inconceivable 
except  in  Christ.  Above  all,  how  could  the 
deep  antagonism  of  the  Gospel  to  the  spirit 
of  ancient  slavery  have  been  shewn  so  power- 
fully, so  prevailingly,  and  at  the  same  time  with 
such  tenderness  and  peaceableness,  as  thus  ? 

Here  are  two  parties  face  to  face  with  each 
other ;  one  is  an  injured  master,  the  other 
a  slave,  a  fugitive,  and  probably  also  once  a 
thief.  In  law  (and  all  the  social  traditions 
of  the  time  gave  the  exercise  of  that  law  full 
scope)  the  slave  was  now  in  the  grasp  of 
the  master — to  be  treated  with  a  despotic 
power  of  punishment  much  greater  than  what 
we  now  allow  a  man  against  his  horse  or  his 
dog.  Philemon  might  practically  do  what  he 
liked  with  Onesimus ;  not  only  inflicting  on 
him  the  harshest  common  punishments,  but 
putting  him  to  torture,  sentencing  him  to 
death,    and    killing    him    by    inches.1       This 

1  "I  should  think  that  no  treatment  of  a  slave  by  his 
master  could  come  under  the  cognizance  of  a  Roman 
governor.  .  .  .  Modifications  of  the  old  barbarity  have  been 
overrated.  I  doubt  whether  any  prohibition  of  the  arbitrary 
killing  of  a  slave  was  regularly  made  before  the  time  of 
Hadrian  [half  a  century  after  St  Paul's  death].     Philemon 


2  86  THE    EPISTLE   TO    PHILEMON 

position  of  things  between  them  rested  on  the 
basis  of  a  vast  and  immemorial  social  institu- 
tion. Practically,  the  voice  of  the  whole 
human  race  affirmed  then,  and  had  affirmed 
from  all  time,  the  naturalness  of  slavery  in 
some  form ;  and  the  Roman  world,  "  the 
world,"  affirmed  it  in  the  extremest  and 
direst  forms  of  the  institution.  Who  does 
not  know  terrible  stories  of  deeds  done  to 
slaves  in  that  order  of  things,  deeds  before 
which  the  agonies  of  Uncle  Toms  Cabin  pale 
into  moderation  ?  For  assuredly  Legree  him- 
self would  not  have  perpetrated  cruelties  which 
Roman  gentlemen  and  noblemen  inflicted  with- 
out a  qualm.  Vedius  Pollio,  an  associate  of 
Augustus,  kept  a  shoal  of  huge  conger-eels 
in  a  tank  in  his  garden ;  to  these  creatures 
he  threw  his  offending  slaves,  to  be  killed 
and  eaten.  One  day  the  Emperor  was  dining 
with  him,  and  a  slave  in  waiting  dropped 
and   broke  a   crystal    cup ;    he   was   promptly 


would  have  power,  most  likely,  to  treat  Onesimus  exactly 
as  he  pleased.  (Dr  E.  C.  Clark,  Regius  Prof,  of  Laws  in 
the  Univ.  of  Cambridge ;  quoted  in  the  Cantb.  Bible  for 
Schools,  etc. ;  Colossians,  p.  191.) 


VEDIUS   AND    PEDANIUS  287 

sentenced  to  the  tank.  The  poor  fellow's  cry 
to  the  Emperor — not  to  be  spared,  but  to  be 
killed  in  some  other  way,  did  indeed  move 
the  Master  of  the  world  to  bid  Vedius  set 
him  free,  and  to  abolish  his  menagerie  of  eels. 
But  the  imperial  friendship  was  not  with- 
drawn ;  Vedius  was  not  out  of  society.  Half 
a  century  later,  just  when  St  Paul  was  reaching 
Rome,  four  hundred  slaves,  men  and  women, 
including  no  doubt  literary  slaves  of  high 
culture  along  with  the  most  menial,  were 
executed  in  one  scene  of  blood,  under  the 
express  and  deliberate  sanction  of  the  Senate, 
while  the  troops  lined  the  streets  to  prevent 
a  popular  rescue.  And  why  ?  Because  their 
master,  Pedanius,  had  been  murdered  by 
one  of  his  household  ;  under  terrible  provo- 
cation, if  all  tales  were  true.  And  "  old 
custom,"  says  the  dispassionate  historian,1 
required  in  such  a  case  that  the  whole 
existing  slave  household  should  suffer  death, 
as  a  deterrent. 

Crucifixion,  at  the  master's  absolute  sentence, 

1  Tacitus,  Annates,  xiv.  42. 


THE    EPISTLE   TO    PHILEMON 


was  the  common  punishment  for  even  petty 
larcenies  by  slaves.  And  it  need  not  be  said 
that  other  and  more  everyday  penalties  were 
cruel  in  proportion.1 

Meanwhile  the  law  and  usage  of  slavery 
had  the  support  of  philosophic  theory,  which 
maintained  an  aboriginal  and  essentially  natural 
place  for  slavery  in  the  order  of  human  life. 
Plato,  in  his  ideal  Commonwealth,  gives 
slavery  ample  room,  and  the  master  who  Kills 
his  slave,  though  regarded  as  a  wrongdoer, 
is  visited  with  only  a  ceremonial  purification. 
Aristotle,  in  the  opening  pages  of  his  "  Polity," 
discusses  the  relation  of  slave  to  master  as 
one  of  the  foundations  of  society.  He  defines 
the  slave  as  a  being  who  is  by  nature  the 
property  of  another  ;  who  is  and  has  nothing 
outside  that  fact  ;  who  is  merely,  as  it  were, 
his  master's  limb,  an  extension  of  his  master's 
physical  organism,  with  the  one  function  of 
capacity    to    do    his    master's    pleasure.        In 


1  For  vivid  illustrations  see  many  passages  in  Dean  Farrar's 
powerful  story,  Darkness  and  Dawn.  In  the  course  of  the 
story,  the  Dean  gives  an  imaginary  account  of  Onesimus' 
career. 


THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  AND  SLAVERY   289 

short,  he  is  a  human  being  devoid  of  all 
personal  rights. 

The  uncompromising  sentences  are  im- 
pressive reading  from  one  high  point  of  view. 
To  the  Christian  who  has  entered  at  all  into 
the  mystery  of  the  "  service  which  is  perfect 
freedom,"  servire  Mud  quod  et  regnare  est, 
the  sacred  bondage  of  his  Lord,  the  Greek 
thinker's  words  have  a  striking  and  even 
thrilling  applicability  to  the  relation  of  the 
redeemed  to  the  Redeemer.  But  from  the 
view-point  of  man  and  man  they  are  formidable 
words  indeed  ;  exactly  fit  to  supply  a  supposed 
intellectual  justification  for  usages  of  pitiless 
cruelty  in  the  field  of  real  life. 

It  is  important  to  point  out  by  the  way 
how  totally  absent  from  the  teaching  of  the 
Old  Testament  is  the  Aristotelian  view  of 
slavery.  True,  a  certain  type  of  slavery  is 
freely  recognized  in  the  Mosaic  legislation,  and 
is  explicitly  dealt  with.  The  fact  must  teach 
us  caution  as  regards  hasty  denunciation  of 
every  form  of  compulsory  service,  as  if  per 
se  it  must  under  all  possible  circumstances  be 
an   outrage    on    humanity.       But    we   observe 

19 


290  THE   EPISTLE    TO    PHILEMON 

that  the  main  drift  of  the  Biblical  legislation 
is  always  towards  the  protection  not  of  slavery, 
but  of  the  slave.  Not  for  a  moment  is  the 
slave  of  the  Hebrew  owner  regarded  as  other 
than  a  man,  with  rights ;  equal  in  his  humanity 
to  his  master,  and  fully  capable  with  his 
master  of  part  and  lot  in  the  covenant-mercies 
of  God.  At  the  passover-feast  a  place  with 
the  family  is  accorded,  without  reserve,  not 
to  the  hireling  who  has  made  free  contract, 
but  to  the  slave,  born  or  bought.  The 
tendency  may  be  said  to  be  far  less  to 
emphasize  the  helplessness  than  the  privileges 
of  the  slave ;  he  is  the  all-but-member  not  of 
the  household  only  but  of  the  family  circle.1 
From  some  aspects  his  condition  and  position 


1  See  Does  the  Bible  sanction  American  slavery?  an 
essay  by  Prof.  Goldwirl  Smith  (1863).  It  is  a  powerful  and 
suggestive  discussion  of  this  and  kindred  matters.  The 
author,  by  the  way,  points  out  with  emphasis  (the  more 
remarkable  as  coming  from  the  then  leader  of  philosophical 
radicalism)  the  absolute  refusal  of  our  Lord  and  the  Apostles 
to  adopt  or  promote  "the  spirit  of  political  revolution," 
though  surrounded  by  every  temptation  to  do  so.  They  thus 
saved  the  religious  movement  from  becoming  a  political  one, 
and  so  from  challenging  a  conflict  with  political  force  on 
its  ow?z  ground. 


CHRIST   AND    SLAVERY  29 1 

are  capable  of  far  nobler  uses  and  issues  than 
that  of  the  "employe"  where  the  sole  con- 
nexion between  worker  and  workmaster  is 
that  of  so  much  money  given  for  so  much 
time  and  labour.1 

Our  Lord  and  His  Apostles  take  up  and 
carry  on  the  Old  Testament  ideal  so  far  as 
to  recognize  and  tolerate  slavery  as  a  fact  in 
the  world.  But  inevitably  He  goes  forward, 
leading  His  disciples  with  Him,  laying  down 
with  a  new  and  divine  emphasis  truths  which 
silently  but  surely  were  to  discredit  altogether 
the  very  idea  of  the  purchase  and  possession 
of  man  by  man.  Not  by  revolutionary  denun- 
ciation does  He  supersede  the  root-principles 
of  slavery,  but  by  the  facts  of  His  own  holy 
Incarnation,  meritorious  Cross  and  Passion, 
glorious  Resurrection  and  Ascension,  and 
the  coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Henceforth 
human  life  is  to  be  seen  and  studied  in 
the  light  of  the  glory  of  the  Son  of  Man. 
So  irradiated,  our  nature  appears  invested  with 


1  See  Dr  C.  H.  Waller's  Handbook  to  St  Paul's  Epistles, 
pp.  178,  etc. 


292  THE    EPISTLE    TO    PHILEMON 

a  majesty  and  a  mystery  which  could  not 
possibly  be  adequately  perceived  before  ;  and 
man  learns  to  look  upon  his  fellow,  whoever 
he  may  be,  with  a  reverence  which  has  done 
more  for  human  liberties  than  all  the  rhetoric 
ever  expended  upon  abstract  rights  or  con- 
crete wrongs. 

This  brings  us  back  to  the  point  we  reached 
some  way  above,  the  beautiful  phenomenon 
of  contrast  between  this  Epistle  to  the  slave- 
owner Philemon,  and  the  then  current  notions 
and  usages  of  slavery.  Here  is  the  Apostle, 
engaged  in  a  task  most  difficult  and  anxious 
in  itself;  the  effort  to  get  a  fugitive  treated 
with  indulgence  on  his  return.  How  delicate 
was  the  matter  we  may  be  reminded  by  an 
often-quoted  parallel  to  St  Paul's  letter.  His 
younger  contemporary,  the  junior  Pliny,  a 
good  example  of  the  cultivated  Roman  gentle- 
man, undertakes  to  plead  with  a  friend, 
Sabinian,  the  cause  of,  not  a  slave  but  an 
ex-slave,  a  "  freedman,"  who  had  offended. 
The  stern  law  made  it  possible  in  such  cases 
for  the  quondam  master  to  claim  the  con- 
demnation of  the  man  back  to  slavery  again. 


PLINY   AND    ST    PAUL  293 


Pliny  addresses  himself  to  the  appeal  with  an 
unmistakable  sense  of  difficulty  and  effort ;  he 
explains  that  he  has  spoken  to  the  offender  him- 
self with  the  utmost  severity  ;  that  to  forgive 
him  now  will  give  Sabinian  a  strong  position 
for   very    different    conduct    in    the    future,    if 
necessary  ;    that  to  put   the   youth    to    torture 
(it  seems   that   Sabinian    might  have  procured 
even   this)   would  after  all   only  inflict  torture 
on  his  own   kindly   heart;    and  so    on.       The 
letter  has  its  grace  and  beauty,  and  is  evidently 
studied  and  elaborated  to  the  utmost,   for  its 
difficult    work.       How  shall   the   Cilician    tent- 
maker   do    what    the    eminent    and    ennobled 
litterateur  took   such  trouble  over  ?      He  will 
do  it  with  perfect  ease,  for  he  has  what  Pliny 
had  not,  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  to  conjure 
with.      He  speaks   indeed  with  a   human    tact 
and  gentle  dignity  which  leaves  Pliny's  behind, 
and   which    has    won    the    admiration    of  non- 
Christian  critics.1       But  his   real  strength   and 
liberty    in  the  work   come  evidently  from  the 


1  Renan  calls  the  Epistle,   "A  true  little  masterpiece  in 
the  art  of  letter-writing  "  ! 


294  THE    EPISTLE    TO    PHILEMON 

facts  of  grace  and  salvation.     Paul,  Philemon, 

and    now    equally    Onesimus,    are    all    in    the 

Lord.      Paul  has   found  Christ,   and  is   "His 

prisoner."     Philemon  has  found  Christ  through 

Paul's     ministry    (ver.     19).       Onesimus    has 

found    Christ.      "  Just  as  he   was,"  disgraced, 

degraded,    from    the   side    of   human    law    not 

a   chattel    only    but   a    condemned   victim,    he 

has  found  the  Lord,  and  the   Lord  has  found 

him.       Not   all    the    Empire,    not    all   society, 

can    forbid     him    to     be,   as    a    penitent    man 

who  believes,  "a  member  of  Christ,  the  child 

of  God,  and  an    inheritor   of   the  kingdom  of 

heaven."     Does  Philemon   own  Christ  for  his 

absolute    Master  ?      Then,  on    his    allegiance, 

he  must    recognize    Onesimus  as   his  spiritual 

brother    in     Him,    antecedent    to     all     other 

thoughts   about  him.      With  wonderful  depth 

of   holy    tenderness   this    is    put    to    him    by 

St  Paul  (vers.   15,  16) :  "  Perhaps  he  therefore 

was  parted  from  thee  for  an  hour,   that  thou 

mightest  get  him  back  for  ever ;   no  more  as 

bondservant,  but   above   bondservant,   brother 

beloved,  most  of  all  to  me,  (yes,  own  brother 

to  the  Chosen    Vessel,)  but   how  much   more 


WAS    ONESIMUS    SET    FREE  ?  295 

(delightful  logical  inconsistency,  for  spiritual 
truth's  sake)  to  thee,  both  in  the  flesh,  and 
in  the  Lord  ? "  The  words  seem  to  baffle 
not  criticism  only  but  praise ;  they  take  it 
for  granted  with  the  inimitable  skill  of  love 
and  holiness  that  Onesimus,  in  Christ,  will 
be  such  to  Philemon  that  his  return  will  be 
infinitely  welcome  as  a  return  for  ever,  a 
return  to  a  companionship  and  fraternity  that 
are  never  more  to  end. 

It  has  been  asked,  did  St  Paul  intend  to 
press  for  Onesimus'  emancipation  ?  To  me 
the  question  seems  almost  beneath  the  subject, 
as  we  read  those  two  verses.  That  Philemon 
did  legally  manumit  his  slave  is,  to  say  the 
least  of  it,  extremely  probable.  But  surely 
if  he  did  so  it  was  on  the  principle  that  the 
less  is  included  in  the  greater,  and  that  the 
inconceivably  greater  was  already  granted  to 
Onesimus  from  above — he  was  his  master's 
brother  in  their  Lord,  now  and  for  the  eternal 
life.  As  such,  he  was  close  to  his  master's 
regenerate  heart.  He  was  welcomed  back 
with  a  sacred  domestic  joy  which  echoed  that 
which    filled   the   house    of  the   father   of  the 


296  THE    EPISTLE    TO    PHILEMON 

Prodigal,  the  father  who  would  not  hear 
the  penitent  out  in  his  petition  to  be  taken 
back  as  a  servant. 

How    easy    and    how    inimitable     are    the 
triumphs  of  grace,  that  is  to  say,  of  the  Lord 
Jesus    Christ   by   the    Holy    Ghost,    over   the 
most    crooked   and    rugged    problems    of  real 
human   life !      Its  first  and  deepest   conquest, 
necessary   to    all    others,    is    over    when    the 
individual    is    brought    face    to    face   with-  his 
neglected  or  rejected  Saviour,  and  finds  himself 
falling  at  His  feet,  the  willing  captive  of  His 
love  and  power.       But    then    the    man,    going 
out  into  life,  spiritually  stays  still  for  ever   in 
that   blissful   captivity  ;    and  it  cannot  but  tell 
all  around  him   in  his   attitude  to    other  men. 
Everything    is    transfigured     there     for     him. 
Personal   grievances ;    invaded  rights  ;    all  the 
rubs    and    frets    of  common    hours,    quite   as 
much  as   the  fierce  temptations   to   pride  and 
anger    brought    by    some    uncommon    hours  ; 
these  things   now  refuse  to   look   the  same  to 
him    as   when   he   was    "  apart    from    Christ." 
He   is    no   longer   merely  himself;    he    is  "a 
man  in    Christ."       And    the    offender    either 


ONESIMUS    RETURNING  297 

is  in  Christ  too,  or  may  be  an  hour  hence  ; 
in  any  case,  he  is  a  fellow-sinner,  and  for 
him  too  Christ  died. 

All  too  feebly  and  intermittently,  at  the 
best,  do  we  believers  realize  and  apply  these 
facts.  But  it  is  immensely  important  that  we 
do  know  them  for  facts.  And  they  have  an 
actual  influence  in  the  world,  even  as  things 
are,  an  influence  which  would  be  measured  by 
a  tremendous  experienced  difference  if  they 
should  suddenly  cease  to  be  known. 

Meantime,  in  studying  the  spiritual  and 
social  lessons  of  this  precious  "  note,"  let  us 
not  forget  Onesimus,  and  his  point  of  view. 
We  have  stood  at  Philemon's  side,  and  seen 
how  for  him  the  Lord  Jesus  would  transfigure 
everything  as  He  met  Onesimus  coming  back 
again  to  that  familiar  door.  But  now,  let  us 
join  Onesimus,  and  try  to  feel  with  him  as 
he  re-enters  the  old  scene.  For  one  thing, 
his  being  there  at  all  is  the  token  of  a  spiritual 
miracle.  Without  conversion,  he  would  surely 
rather  have  put  an  end  to  his  own  life  than 
returned  of  his  free  will  all  that  way  to 
Colossae,    a    slave    at   law   as    much    as    ever. 


298  THE    EPISTLE   TO    PHILEMON 

But  he  has  been  converted.  And  with  con- 
version, with  the  knowledge  now  of  Christ 
for  him  and  Christ  in  him,  two  profound 
effects  have  followed ;  he  possesses  a  happiness 
which  makes  hard  duties  easy,  and  he  has  got 
a  sight  of  holiness  which  makes  duty  divine. 
He  returns  to  Philemon  because,  as  God's 
providence  suffered  human  society  then  to  be, 
it  was  Philemon's  right  to  have  him  ;  so  not 
only  does  St  Paul  advise  return,  but  Onesimus 
chooses  it.  And  he  returns  to  Philemon,  we 
may  be  quite  sure,  as  a  brother  in  Christ 
indeed,  but  also,  and  for  himself  as  the  first 
thought,  to  be,  in  Christ,  a  willing,  faithful, 
devoted  bondservant,  ready  to  take  up  every 
once  repellent  task  (should  it  be  ordered)  not 
only  without  a  murmur  but  with  a  happy 
heart,  embracing  the  old  position  (should  it  be 
continued  by  his  master's  will)  as  no  longer 
a  degradation  but  now  a  great  occasion  for 
that  most  joyful  of  occupations,  willing  the 
will  of  God,  delighting  to  do  it,  coveting  this 
as  the  ambition  of  life,  "  that  Christ  may  be 
magnified  in  my  body." 

Legend  says  that  Onesimus  became  a  bishop, 


ONESIMUS    RETURNED  299 

bishop  of  Ephesus.  It  is  but  legend ;  though 
undoubtedly  many  a  primitive  bishop,  like 
Samuel  Crowther  in  our  own  day,  began  life 
as  a  slave.  But  it  matters  very  little  to  the 
noble  significance  of  Onesimus'  brief  story 
whether  or  no  he  came  to  office  in  the  Church. 
Even  the  episcopate  is  a  much  smaller  thing 
in  spiritual  scale  than  the  surrender  of  the 
soul  in  faith  to  God  and  to  His  will.  And 
that  great  thing  was  given,  most  surely,  by 
a  sovereign  hand,  to  the  poor  Phrygian  slave. 
So  we  watch  him  in  at  the  courtyard  door 
in  the  Colossian  street.  He  enters  with  all 
modesty  and  humbleness  of  mien  ;  not  abject, 
not  cringing,  that  is  impossible  now,  in  Christ ; 
but  penitent,  submissive,  ready.  And  there 
he  is  met  with  a  glad  chorus  of  Christian 
welcomes.  Philemon  first,  and  then  Apphia, 
and  Archippus,  and  surely  their  household 
too,  are  round  him  in  a  moment.  "  This 
their  brother  was  dead,  and  is  alive  again ;  he 
was  lost,  and  is  found." 

He  presents  the  Letter.     Its   precise  terms 
we  are  to  study   in    our   next    chapter.       But 


300  THE    EPISTLE   TO    PHILEMON 

we  know  abundantly  enough  about  it  to 
make  it  precious  to  us  already,  as  a  message, 
an  oracle  indeed,  full  of  the  love  of  Christ,  of 
the  power  of  His  grace  upon  the  common 
things  of  life,  and  of  the  holiness  of  duty, 
that  is  to  say,  of  conformity  to  the  will  of 
God. 


THE    EPISTLE    TO    PHILEMON:    TRANS- 
LATION:   "ENVOI" 


Dieu  a  console  son  Fils  sur  la  croix  par  la  vue  des  enfans  qu'il 
y  engendroit :  Jesus-Christ  console  ses  ministres  crucifies  avec  luy, 
par  la  communication  de  la  meme  grace. 

Ouesnel  (1705),  on  Philem.no. 

Paul,  handling  a  base  and  small  matter,  yet,  according  to  his 
manner,  mounteth  aloft  unto  God. 

The  Geneva  Bible  (1557),  heading  to  the  Epistle. 

We  are  all  the  Lord's  Onesimi. 

Luther. 


302 


CHAPTER    XIV 

THE    EPISTLE    TO    PHILEMON  :     TRANSLATION  I 

ENVOI 

PHILEMON,  while  Onesimus  stands  once 
more  before  him,   the  new    man   in    the 
old  scene,  reads  as  follows : 

Ver.  i.  Paul,  prisoner  of  Christ  Jesus,  (he  says 
nothing  here  of  Apostleship ;  it  is  friend  carrying 
to  friend  a  common  Master's  message,  and  pointing 
as  it  were  to  the  brand  of  suffering  in  that  Master's 
service,)  Paul,  outwardly  the  captive  of  Roman  law 
and  power,  but  really  of  his  Redeemer's  will,  and 
Timotheus  our  (6)  brother  in  the  Lord's  family,  (for 
he  too  shall  be  named,  and  shall  add  his  weight 
of   sympathy   and   love,)  to  Philemon1    our    beloved 


1  "  All  we  know  of  him  is  given  in  this  short  letter.  .  .  . 
The  Epistle  indicates  a  noble  specimen  of  the  primitive 
Christian.  .  .  .  The  name  Philemon  happens  to  occur  in 
the  beautiful  legend  of  Philemon  and  Baucis,  the  Phrygian 

303 


304  THE    EPISTLE   TO    PHILEMON 

Ver.  2.  friend  and  fellow-worker,  and  to  Apphia  our 
(rfj)  sister,1  and  to  Archippus  our  fellow-soldier 2  in  the 
warfare  of  the  Lord,  and  to  the  Church,  the  assembly 
of  the  converts,  meeting  at  your  house ;  using  its 
chief    room    as    the    place    of    common    worship.3 

Ver.  3.  Grace  to  you,  and  peace,  from  God  our 
Father,  and  from  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.4 

Ver.  4.  I  thank  my  God,  (characteristic  words,  for 
every   Pauline    letter    except   only   Galatians   opens 


peasant  pair,  who,  in  an  inhospitable  neighbourhood,  '  en- 
tertained unawares '  Jupiter  and  Mercury  (Ovid,  Metamor- 
phoses, viii.  626-724),  'gods  in  the  likeness  of  men'  (see 
Acts  xiv.  n)."  (Note  here  in  Camb.  Bible  for  Schools,  etc.). — 
Philemon  was  the  "fellow-worker"  of  the  Apostle  and  his 
friends,  no  doubt,  both  by  word  and  by  general  example 
and  influence.  We  do  not  know  whether  he  was  set  apart 
to  special  ministry.     Legend  makes  him  a  bishop. 

1  Probably  read  ddeXcfirj,  not  dyanriTfj.  "We  may  be  sure 
that  she  was  Philemon's  wife.  Her  name  was  a  frequent 
Phrygian  name  .  .  .  and  had  no  connexion  with  the  Latin 
Afifiia"    (Note  here  in  Cambridge  Bible.) 

■  This  passage  and  Col.  iv.  17  give  us  all  we  know  about 
Archippus.  The  natural  inference  seems  to  be  that  he  was 
son  of  Philemon  and  Apphia  and  mission-pastor  at  Colossas  ; 
a  ministry  which  in  Epaphras'  absence  would  have  special 
responsibilities.  Legend  makes  him  a  martyr  with  Philemon 
and  Apphia. 

3  Perhaps  Philemon's  house  was  the  one  meeting-place  in 
Colossae,  which  was  comparatively  a  small  town. 

4  The  salutation  is  verbatim  as  in  Col.  i.  2.    See  above, 

P- as- 


GREETING   AND   THANKSGIVING  305 

with  thanksgiving ;  and  it  is  St  Paul  only  who 
uses  in  his  letters  that  phrase  of  spiritual  appro- 
priation, "  my  God," *)  I  thank  Him,  always,  when 
making  mention  of  you,  naming  the  well-loved  name 
and  calling   up  its    associations,  on   occasion   of  (eVt 

Ver.  5.  c.  gen.)  my  prayers ;  hearing,  as  I  have 
done,  from  Epaphras,  and  from  your  own  Onesimus, 
of  your  love  and  of  your  faith,  (your  saving  trust, 
root  of  all  other  blessings  in  your  life,)  which  you 
have — the  faith  towards  (77/309)  the  Lord  Jesus  and 
the  love  unto  (et<?)  all  the  saints,  that  practical  love 
which  makes  you  the  benefactor  of  every  convert 
round    you.      And    what    is    it    that    my   thankful 

Ver.  6.  prayers  seek  for  you  ?  It  is  that  the 
fellowship  of  your  faith,  the  generous  communication 
of  your  means,  prompted  by  your  personal  salvation, 
may  prove  effective,  all  around  you,  in  producing  a 
true  knowledge  (eirfyvaarts)  of  every  good  thing  which 
is  in  us  (read,  iv  rjfitv),  unto  Christ  Jesus.  Yes,  this 
is  my  dearest  wish,  my  most  earnest  prayer  ;  that 
your  life  of  unselfish  helpfulness  may  so  tell  around 
you  that  the  observing  world  shall  recognize,  in 
your  instance,  all  the  beauty  of  the  gifts  Christ 
Jesus  gives  His  people,  so  that  praise  shall  come 
"  unto  Christ  Jesus,"  aye,  and  new  disciples  too. 

1  In  the  New  Testament  we  have  it  used  elsewhere  only 
by  St  Thomas  (John  xx.  28)  and  by  the  incarnate  Lord 
Himself,  Matt,  xxvii.  46,  etc.,  John  xx.  17,  Rev.  ii.  7,  iji.  12, 

20 


306  THE    EPISTLE    TO    PHILEMON 


Ver.  7.  For  much  joy  I  had  (read  %apai>  and  e*X0V\ 
when  Epaphras  gave  me  his  report  upon  your  life, 
and  much  encouragement  to  my  own  faith  and  zeal, 
on  account  of  your  love,  thus  shewn  in  its  living 
fruits  ;  for  truly  the  hearts  (ffirXdyxya)  of  the  saints, 
the  feelings  of  the  poor  and  troubled  converts 
around  you,  have  been  rested,  refreshed  and  consoled, 
through  you,  brother.  You  have  been  the  Lord's 
loving  agent  (Slu  aov) ;  He  has  used  you  as  His 
almoner  ;  well  may  I  embrace  you,  in  spirit,  with 
a  brother's  arms. 

Ver.  8.  Wherefore  now  I  approach  you  with  a 
request,  full  of  appeals  to  such  faith  and  love. 
Feeling  (e%ooz/)  though  I  do  large  liberty  {irappr)<Ttav  : 
lit,  "  liberty  of  speech,"  "  outspokenness  ")  in  Christ, 
in  our  common  union  with  Him,  and  so  with  one 
another,  and  recollecting  that  He  used  me  to  bring 
you  into  that  union — liberty  to  enjoin  upon  you,  with 
authority,    the    befitting    action   in   the    matter,   yet 

Ver.  9.  on  account  of  the  love  between  us,  (and  of 
the  love  which  shines  in  your  life,)  I  rather  appeal 
to  {irapaKakw)  you.     For  I  am  just 1  Paul,  aged 2  Paul, 


1  I  attempt  thus  to  paraphrase  the  exquisite  phrase, 
toiovtos  &>v  &>s,  k.t.A. 

2  TLptcrfi\)Tt)s.  So  all  manuscripts ;  and  this  is  confirmed  by 
the  ancient  Versions  (e.g.  Paulus  senex,  Latin).  Lightfoot 
advocates  the  reading  7rp«rfievrT]s,  "an  ambassador";  com- 
paring Eph.  vi.  20,  TTpfafieva  ev  &\v<rei,  "  I  am  on  embassy 


THE    PETITION  307 


aye,  and  prisoner  of  Christ  Jesus  now.  What  is  my 
Ver.  10.     petition  then?     I  appeal  to  you  about  my 

own  child,1  whom  I  begot,2  to  the  new  life,  in  my 
Ver.  11.     (rot?:    omit    fxov)   bonds,   Onesimus.3      You 

once  found  him  {rov  irore  aoi)  profitless  (in  sorrowful 

contrast  to  his  name !),  but  you  will  find  him — and 
Ver.  12.     so  shall  I — right  profitable  now.4     Him  (6V) 


in  chains,"  and  remarking  that  the  Greeks  often  spelt  irpeo-- 
j3eurr/s  without  its  second  e.  But  may  we  not  say  that  an 
allusion  to  the  writer's  sacred  dignity  is  not  quite  in  place 
here,  just  after  he  has  expressly  declined  to  speak  with 
authority,  and  just  when  he  is  dealing  with  the  pathos  of 
his  position  ?  The  very  phrase  toiovtos  <ov  olos  is  of  a  kind 
which  much  better  introduces  an  argument  from  weakness 
than  from  prerogative. — St  Paul  was  probably  about  sixty 
years  old  when  he  wrote ;  quite  old  enough,  in  stick  a  life, 
to  justify  a  reference  to  age. 

1  He  pi  tov  ipov  renvov.  The  phrase  is  just  a  little  stronger 
than  tt.  rov  renvov  pov,  and  I  have  attempted,  with  hesitation, 
to  convey  this  by  the  insertion  of  "own." 

2  He  puts  the  conversion  quite  into  the  past,  by  this  aorist ; 
for  it  would  be  long  past  when  Philemon  read  these  words. 

3  "The  name  stands  last  in  the  sentence  ...  a  perfect 
touch  of  heart-rhetoric."  (Note  here  in  the  Ca?nbridge  Bible.) 
It  was  a  common  slave-name,  and  meant  Helpful,  Useful. 
Such  laudatory  names  for  the  class  were  usual ;  e.g.  Chrestus, 
"Good,"  Symfihorus,  "Advantageous." 

4  I  have  freely  paraphrased  the  Greek  here. — Lightfoot 
remarks  that  ko.1  epol  is  "an  after- thought  .  .  .  According 
to  common  Greek  usage  the  first  person  would  .  .  .  precede 
the  second." 


308  THE    EPISTLE    TO    PHILEMON 

I  send  back *  to  you  (read  o-oi),  him  (avrov),  that  is 
to  say,  mine  own  heart,2  my  vitals  {tnfharfxya)  ;  an 
object  of  the  tenderest  affection  in  the  Lord,  one 
with  me  in  the  mighty  link  of  the   spiritual  birth. 

Ver.  13.  Him  (6V)  I,  personally,  (the  iyeo  is  em- 
phatic,) was  wishing  (but  duty  crossed  the  wish)  to 
keep  fast  (*aTe%eji>)  at  my  own  side,  so  that — on  your 
behalf  (yirep  aov),  as  your  substitute,  your  repre- 
sentative— he  might  serve  me,  in  personal  attendance, 
in  the  bonds  of  the  Gospel,  in  this  imprisonment 
for  the  Lord's  work's  sake  ;  Onesimus  might  in- 
deed   have    been    helpful    under    such     conditions ! 

Ver.  14.  But  apart  from  your  decision  I  declined  to 
do  anything,  that  your  goodness — in  giving  him  over 
to  me,  had  that  been  possible — might  not  have  the 
look  of  compulsion  (&>?  /car'  avdjKTjv),  but  be  all  of 
free-will.3 

1  Lit.,  "I  did  send."  The  aorist  is  "epistolary,"  written 
from  the  recipient 's  point  of  view. — Let  us  note  as  we  pass 
on  that  this  brief  word  must  conceal  behind  it  a  great 
sacrifice  on  St  Paul's  part,  a  sacrifice  of  deep  heart-affection 
(and  of  much  practical  convenience)  to  the  demands  of  duty. 
Onesimus'  own  obedience  to  "  I  ought"  was  scarcely  greater. 

2  The  Received  Text  reads,  bv  avtirtiv^ra-  <tv  8e  avrov,  rovrto-ri 
ra  epa  airXdyxva,  7rpocrXa/3oC.  But  there  is  good  evidence  for 
the  reading,  61/  aveVt/x^a  croi,  avrov,  rovrearri  ra.  etia  airXdy^va, 
omitting  npoo-'haftov. 

3  "  It  might  seem  that  he  almost  suggests  to  Philemon  to 
send  Onesimus  back  to  him.  But  this  is  not  likely  in  itself, 
in  view  of  the  long  and  ccstly  journey  involved;  and  besides, 


"BACK  FOR  EVER"  309 

So  he  returns,  as  an  act  of  duty,  on  his  part  and 
on  mine.     But  is  it  not  also  because  of  a  benignant 

Ver.  15.  purpose  of  the  Lord's  ?  For  perhaps  it 
was  for  this,  for  this  occasion  of  return,  of  such 
return,  that  he  was  severed  from  you  for  a  season 
(777309  wpav)  ;  that  you  might  get  him  back x  for  ever 
(alcovwv),  an  eternal  recovery,  for  earth  and  then 
for  heaven.  And  now  you  get  him  back,  a  pos- 
session   more    precious    far    than    when    he    went ; 

Ver.  16.  no  more  as  bondservant,  (for,  whatever  you 
do  or  do  not  do  with  his  legal  relation  to  you, 
that  now  sinks  into  something  greater,)  but  more 
than  bondservant,  even  brother  beloved,  most  of  all  to 
me,  (for  "  my  child  Onesimus "  is  my  brother  too, 
in  the  family  of  God,)  but  how  much  more — for  my 
"  most  of  all  "  must  yield  to  yours — to  you,  joined  to 
you  as  he  now  is  alike  in  the  flesh,2  and  in  the  Lord  ; 

he  looks  forward  to  visit  Colossae  himself  before  long  (ver.  22). 
What  he  means  is  that  he  sends  back  Onesimus,  because 
to  retain  him  would  be  to  get  a  benefit  from  Philemon  willing 
or  not,  and  Philemon's  'good'  had  always  been  freely 
given."     (Note  here  in  the  Cambridge  Bible.) 

1  'Aire^rjs.  The  "verb  is  often  used  of  receiving  payment; 
e.g.  Matt.  vi.  2,  5,  16.  We  might  almost  paraphrase,  l  get 
him  £aid  back,'  as  if  he  had  been  '  le?it  to  the  Lord.'" 
(Note  in  the  Cambridge  Bible.) 

2  "A  remarkable  phrase,  as  if  slavery  were  a  sort  of  rela- 
tionship. This  thought  appears,  as  a  fact,  in  combination 
(and  contrast)  with  the  harshest  theories  of  ancient  slavery. 
Thus  Aristotle  {Polity  i. ii.  .  .  .)  writes,  'the  slave  is  abortion 


3IO  THE    EPISTLE   TO    PHILEMON 

as  it  were  your  limb,  your  hand,  in  earthly  service, 
and  your  fellow-limb  in  the  Redeemer's  body! 

Ver.  17.  If  you  hold  me  then  as  your  partner  in 
faith  and  life,  welcome  him  as  me  ;  it  is  my  other 
self  who  comes  to  you. 

Ver.  18.  But  you  may  have  other  charges  against 
him,  besides  his  flight.  If  he  wronged  you,  defrauded 
you,  taking  what  was  yours  when  he  fled,  or  if  he 
owes  you  anything,  having  had  money  entrusted  to 
him  for  use,  and  having  let  it  go,  put  that  down  to 

Ver.  19.  me ;  I  Paul  write  it  (kypatya,  epistolary) 
with  my  own  hand ;  I  will  myself  refund  it.  My 
autograph  is  here,  to  secure  your  claim  ;  my  amanu- 
ensis gives  way  here  to  my  pen,  that  I  may  give 
you  legal  bond  ;  not  to  say  to  you,  however,  that  you 
actually  (jcai)  owe  me  your  own  self  besides.  Besides 
the  gain,  through  me,  of  getting  Onesimus  back  a 
new  man,  you  have  got  through  me  the  gain  of 
your  own  salvation,  your  self  made  new  in  Christ. 

Ver.  20.  Yes,  brother,  let  me,  even  me,1  have  joy 
(ovaifirjv)  of  you,  win  glad  benefit  from  you,  in  the 
Lord2;    rest   my  heart   {a-ifkd^^a)  ^    Christ    (read, 

of  his  master ;  as  it  were  a  living  though  separated  portion 
of  his  body.'  The  Gospel  would  of  course  '  enforce  with  all 
its  power  that  aspect  of  the  connexion.'  "  (Note  in  the 
Cambridge  Bible.) 

1  'Ey<J>  is  emphatic. 

3  Surely  ovaijir^v  is  a  gracious  play  upon  the  name  'Ovrjo-ifios : 


FAREWELL  3  1 1 


Ver.  21.  eV  XpwTw).  Relying  on  your  obedience,  the 
obedience  of  affection  to  affection,  I  write  (eypaylra) 
to  you,  knowing  that  you  will  do  even  beyond  what 
(&)  I  say. 

Ver.  22.  And  (Be)  meanwhile,  to  mention  another 
matter,  distinct,  yet  not  without  its  connexion, 
please  also  to  prepare  me  hospitality  in  Colossae ;  for 
I  hope  that,  by  means  of  your  prayers,  offered  as  I 
know  they  have  been  for  my  release,  I  shall  be 
granted  to  you,  as  a  gift  from  the  hand  of  God  to 
those  who  love  me  well. 

Ver.  23.     There  greet  you  Epaphras,  my  fellow-prisoner- 

Ver.  24.  of-war  in  Christ  Jesus ;  Marcus,  Aristarchus, 
Demas,  Lucas,  my  fellow-workers.1 

Ver.  25.  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with 
your  (vfiwv)  spirit.  Amen.  Even  so  ;  let  that 
"grace"  which  is  in  fact  Himself  in  His  present 
power  for  blessing  be  with  "  the  spirit "  of  you  all, 
the  one  true  inner  life  of  your  whole  circle.     Amen. 

It  is  indeed  a  wonderful  letter.  If  my 
reader's  heart  goes  at  all  with  mine,  he  agrees 
with    me   that    it   is    indeed   a    Scripture,    not 


almost  as  if  he  would  say,  let  me  get  help  as  well  as  you  get 
Helpful. 

1  See  above,  pp.  263,  264,  for  these  names  at  the  close  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Colossians. 


312  THE   EPISTLE   TO   PHILEMON 

only  by  the  solemn  attestation  of  the  Christian 
Church,  but  on  the  inner  evidence  of  its 
mysterious  depth  and  richness.  Short  as  it 
is,  I  never  for  my  own  part  read  the  Epistle 
to  Philemon  without  a  fresh  sense  that  it 
shares  that  peculiar  characteristic  of  the  Bible 
at  large — you  never  get  to  the  end,  to  the 
depth. 

Among  other  living  lessons,  one  or 
two  have,  during  this  "  study,"  touched  me 
particularly. 

i.  I  am  awestruck  by  the  testimony  of 
the  Letter  to  the  sanctity  of  duty.  Was  this 
ever  more  nobly  illustrated  than  in  these 
unobtrusive  lines  ?  Onesimus  has  found  the 
Lord,  in  full  salvation,  probably  after  awful 
experiences  of  the  miseries  of  transgression  ; 
and  he  has  found,  incidentally,  a  father  and 
a  brother  at  once  in  Paul.  Paul  has  found 
Onesimus,  as  that  singularly  delightful  and 
rich  discovery,  a  human  soul  whom  the  finder 
has  been  permitted  to  win  for  Jesus  Christ. 
The  Phrygian  slave  has  become  his  "  son," 
his  "  heart,"  his  other  self;  indescribably  dear 
to  him,  with  an  affection  in  which  the  strong 


THE    HOLINESS   OF   DUTY  3  I  3 

element  of  compassion  blends  with  all  the 
rest,  natural  and  spiritual.  Was  there  ever  a 
tie  of  the  kind  which  pleaded  more  winningly 
to  be  kept  if  possible  intact  ?  And  was  it 
not  easy  to  manage  the  circumstances  so  that 
it  should  not  be  disturbed  ?  But  no  ;  in  the 
glow  of  Christian  love  the  glory  of  Christian 
law  stands  out  only  the  brighter.  What  was 
right  ?  It  was  right  that  Onesimus  should 
unconditionally  go  back.  It  was  right  that 
St  Paul  should  let  him,  should  bid  him,  go 
without  reserve.  It  must  be  so,  as  a  duty 
in  the  abstract.  It  must  be  so  yet  more  as 
a  duty  in  the  glorious  concrete  ;  it  concerned 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  it  touched  His  honour ; 
it  was  necessary — if  He  was  to  be  fully 
understood  as  the  Lord  at  once  and  equally 
of  love  and  of  truth. 

"  Dig  in  the  Bible  where  you  will,  only 
dig  deep  enough,  and  you  will  find  Do  right 
at  the  bottom."  We  have  not  to  dig  very 
deep  for  this  in  the  Letter  to  Philemon. 

ii.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Epistle  is  a 
perfect  example  of  the  manner  of  the  Gospel 
in  its    inculcation   of  duty.       It   is   absolutely 


314  THE    EPISTLE   TO    PHILEMON 

decided,  yet  how  entirely  gentle !  Here  is 
no  "  Stoic  rigour,"  still  less  any  Pharisaic 
hardness  (though  the  writer  was  a  Pharisee), 
calling  attention  to  itself.  The  thing  is  done, 
and  done  thoroughly.  But  it  is  done  as  by 
one  who  enters  deep  into  every  feeling  of 
every  one  concerned.  He  perfectly  under- 
stands Onesimus,  and  while  he  treats  him 
as  just  what  he  is,  he  speaks  of  him  in 
the  very  way  to  shield  him  and  to  se*cure 
his  kindly  welcome  back.  He  understands 
Philemon  equally  well,  and  takes  account  with 
a  fine  insight  and  respect  of  all  his  grievance 
and  his  claim.  And  he  knows  his  own  heart 
too,  in  its  sensibilities  of  attachment,  and 
makes  not  the  least  affectation  of  having 
crushed  them  or  frozen  them  in  the  business 
of  doing  right. 

All  this  is  just  in  the  manner  of  the  Gospel. 
No  such  power  has  ever  appeared  on  earth 
to  the  rescue  of  Duty,  as  the  Gospel.  But 
it  comes  to  the  rescue  with  an  energy  which 
is  wholly  of  sacred  love.  It  is  the  glorifier 
of  Right,  but  so  that  it  is  always  also  the 
friend  of  the  human  heart. 


"  THE  LORD'S  onesimi  "  3  J  5 


iii.  Lastly,  as  the  Christian  reads  this  brief 
radiant  page,  he  is  conscious  all  along  that 
it  is,  besides  all  else  that  it  is,  a  parable— of 
himself.  "We  are  all  the  Lord's  Onesimi," 
wrote  blessed  Luther.  Is  it  not  so?  Let 
the  sinner  who  has  been  convinced  by  the 
Spirit,  brought  to  believing  repentance,  and 
received  by  the  Lord  who  brought  him,  answer 
the  question. 

He  was  always,  by  every  right  and  claim 
which  could  give  possession,  the  property, 
the  personal  chattel,  of  Jesus  Christ.  But 
till  grace  regenerated  his  will,  he  was  a  restive 
servant,  a  rebel,  a  fugitive,  a  defrauder  and 
debtor  to  that  Master.  He  traversed  strange 
and  distant  paths  in  his  guilty  flight.  What- 
ever they  were  in  outward  seeming,  they  were 
all  "  ways  of  the  transgressor "  in  their 
inwardness.  The  unconverted  life  may  have 
been  scandalous,  or  it  may  have  been 
singularly  seemly.  But  as  regarded  the  true 
claims  of  the  true  Master,  the  wanderer's  deep 
being  was  saying  through  it  all,  "  I  will  not 
have  this  Man  to  reign  over  me." 

Then  came,  somehow  or  other,   "the  time 


316  THE   EPISTLE   TO   PHILEMON 

of  finding."  The  fugitive,  by  whatever  means, 
"  came  to  himself,"  and  discovered  first  his 
misery  and  then  his  wonderful  redemption 
from  it,  through  One  who  had  borne  his 
burthen,  and  who  lived  to  be  his  life.  And 
lo,  in  this  case,  for  here  the  parable  breaks 
down  under  its  divine  antitype,  his  Paul  and 
his  Philemon  are  one  ;  the  Friend  who  finds 
him  in  his  wretchedness  proves  to  be  the 
Master  whom  he  has  rejected  in  his  miserable 
pride. 

So  this  Onesimus  awakens  to  the  stern  but 
most  blessed  duty  of  a  prompt  return  and  an 
unconditional  surrender  to  the  bondage  of 
the  Lord.  He  cannot  rest  now  away  from  his 
Colossae.  He  will  never  find  happiness  now, 
this  he  knows  perfectly  well,  except  within  the 
gate  of  his  Philemon's  house.  He  makes  haste 
to  the  place  which  he  had  once,  in  the  Fall, 
mistaken  for  a  prison,  but  which  he  knows 
now  as  the  place  where  he  is  possessed,  that 
he  may  posess  all  things  in  his  Master. 

He  comes  back,  without  a  word  of  self- 
defence,  to  give  himself  up.  He  places  his 
Lord's    foot    upon   his    neck.       He   takes   up 


" PERFECT    FREEDOM  "  3  I  7 

every  condition  of  his  Lord's  discipline,  "  to 
love,  to  cherish,  to  obey."  He  lays  his  Lord's 
burthen  on  his  shoulder,  rejoicing.  He  comes 
for  his  Lord's  orders  ;  and  the  one  ambition 
of  his  life  is  now  to  do  them. 

He  is  perfectly  free,  for  he  has  seen  the 
interior  of  the  bondservice  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  assents  from  his  own  soul's  depths  to 
the  bliss  of  belonging  to  Him. 

Never  can  he  forget  the  wrong  and  shame 
of  his  spiritual  treachery  and  escapade.  Well 
does  he  know  that  had  his  Philemon  taken 
the  law  with  him  his  just  lot  would  have 
been  "  many  stripes,"  and  "  shame  and  ever- 
lasting contempt."  He  never  forgives  himself, 
remembering  his  sin  and  knowing,  now  at 
last,  his  Lord. 

But  all  this  means  no  misgiving.  He  is 
more  than  ever  his  Lord's  bondman  ;  yes,  the 
bondman  who  has  now  said  with  all  his  heart, 
"  I  will  not  go  out  free,"  as  it  were  counter- 
signing irrevocably  the  document  of  his  own 
purchase.  But  he  is  most  of  all  his  Lord's 
brother  ;  wonderful  word.  His  Philemon 
"  is  not   ashamed    to    call "    him    so   with    his 


3  18  THE    EPISTLE   TO    PHILEMON 

own  lips.  He  is  "  received  back  for  ever, 
brother  beloved."  Yet  again,  the  brother  is 
always  and  for  ever  the  bondservant ;  for  his 
whole  existence  is  surrounded  and  indelibly 
charactered  by  the  fact  that  he  belongs.  Only, 
it  is  a  belonging  full  of  life  as  well  as  of  law. 
He  is  "a  portion  of  his  Master  ;  as  it  were 
a  living,  though  separated,  portion  of  His 
body."1 

"  I  serve "  is  henceforth  a  fact  absolutely 
necessary  to  the  expression  of  his  affinity, 
and  of  his  love.  It  is  so  now,  it  will  be  so 
for  ever,  when  the  Colossae  of  his  earthly 
sojourn  with  the  Lord  is  transfigured  into 
"  that  great  City,  the  holy  Jerusalem."  For 
there  also  it  is  written  (Rev.  xxii.  3)  that 
"  His  bondservants  shall  do  Him  service." 

The  glorified  shall  be  still  "the  Onesimi " 
of  the  Lord : 

quem  nosse  vivere,  cui  serv1re  regnare  est. 

Amen. 

1  See  above,  p.  309. 


Puisse  la  meme  foi  qui  consola  leur  vie 

Nous  ouvrir  les  sentiers  que  leur  pas  ont  presses,  ' 
Et  dirigeant  nos  pieds  vers  la  sainte  patrie 

Ou  leur  bonheur  s'accroit  de  leurs  travaux  passes, 
Nous  rendre  ces  objets  de  tendresse  et  d'envie 

Qui  ne  sont  pas  perdus  mais  nous  ont  devances. 

Vinet. 


319 


PRINTED   BY 

HAZELL,    WATSON,   AND   VINEY,    LD., 

LONDON   AND  AYLESBURY. 


BS2715.M926  1898 

Colossian  studies  [microform]  :  lessons 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1012  00066  2256 


DATE  DUE 


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